Big names in close
contact with Imran
Politicians from PPP, PML-N, and PML-Q willing to join PTI g 14 former ministers to
announce affiliation after Eid g PTI leaders say party not welcoming opportunists
g

ISLAMABAD
MIAN AbrAr

M

eSMeRISeD with the
popularity of Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaaf
(PTI), politicians unhappy with their respective political parties are in close
contact with PTI Chairman Imran
Khan, but are reluctant to take a final
leap to join his party.
A PTI source told Pakistan Today
on Sunday that several leading politicians from the Pakistan People’s Party
(PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N), and the PML-Quaid (PML-Q)
were in touch with Khan.
“Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Salim
Saifullah, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari,
Senator Jamal Khan Leghari, Khawaja

Wishes its readers a
joyous and blessed

Eidul Adha
The offices of Pakistan Today will remain closed
on November 07 and 08 on account of
Eidul Adha, therefore there will be no edition on
November 08 and 09.

Khan Hoti, Rana Nazir Ahmed and
many others are in touch with Imran
Khan and would join us at the right
time,” said the source, adding that some
former parliamentarians including
Marvi Memon and Khurshid Kasuri
were also in contact with the PTI chief.
“Though Marvi Memon is also
mulling her options to launch her own
party, she is also in touch with the PTI
leadership. Many more are in touch
through common friends and we welcome all on board,” the source said.
The source said former foreign minister Qureshi was so interested in the
PTI that he had sent thousands of his
supporters to attend Imran Khan’s rally
at Minar-e-Pakistan and even paid for
their transport from Multan.
He said the parliamentarians willing to join the PTI had told Khan that

since they were members of the parliament, they could not switch parties immediately. “However, they have told
Imran Khan that they would resign
from parliament if he asked them to do
so,” added the source.
Former ministers:
According to a report, 14 former
ministers, including Jehangir Khan
Tareen and Ishaq Khakwani, also expressed their intention to join the PTI.
Tareen, former minister for industries, production and special initiative, said on Sunday that he had
informed Imran Khan about other
members of his group who were willing to join the PTI.
Continued on page 04

pML-Q to organise pro-Zardari raLLy | page 02

Mirza demands BB’s killers
MONITORING DESK
Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza demanded on Sunday that
the government find out who killed former premier Benazir Bhutto and
who was responsible for the security lapses that caused her assassination,
Geo News reported. Addressing a public meeting at Qasimabad, the former
home minister said he had come out for Sindh’s rights and honour and he
had issued 300,000 arms licenses for this purpose. “My agenda is to protect Sindh province,” he stated. He said out of the 300,000 licenses, 50,000
Continued on page 04

SAARC Summit

Pakistan to stress resolution
of issues with India
g

Indian foreign secretary says 4 pacts to be signed
ISLAMABAD
SHAIQ HUSSAIN

Pakistan will urge India to engage in “meaningful, result-oriented and sustained dialogue” to
settle the Kashmir and other bilateral disputes when Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani meets
his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh on November 11 on
the sidelines of 17th SAARC Summit in the Maldives. Gilani will
lead the Pakistani delegation at
the summit of South Asian nations, which is scheduled for November 10 and 11, 2011. This year’s
summit’s theme is ‘Building Bridges’, which
means enhanced focus on increasing transportation and communication links, promoting regional trade and investment and free
movement of people to facilitate their interaction across the SAARC countries’ borders.
“Pakistan also looks to build bridges with India
like other regional states. The message from Is-

lamabad will be plain and clear: Islamabad
wants meaningful and result-oriented dialogue
and a sustained one that helps in the settlement
of Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and all other
Continued on page 04

KashMiri Leader rejeCts indo-paK trade paCt | page 03

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:25 AM Page 2

02 News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

LAHore

Today’s

Sellers storm into the city with their herds

NewS

worLD vIew

Afghans in Pakistan celebrate eid on Sunday

‘Walking with the comrades’

Quick
Look

Story on Page 09

Story on Page 07

Story on Page 14

Shujaat, Pervaiz encourage
spirit of sacrifice in people
Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid (PML-Q)
chief Shujaat Hussain and leader Pervaiz elahi said on
Sunday that politicians should sacrifice their personal
good for national interests.
In an eid message for the nation, the two PML-Q
leaders said that eidul Adha teaches Muslims the
meaning of sacrifice, adding that, “We should pledge
on this eid that we will sacrifice personal interests over
national interests.”
Shujaat and Pervaiz said, “We should also not forget
our brothers and sisters in trouble due to flood
devastation and help them to have the true pleasure of
eid.” They said that every Pakistani should bow before
Allah and pledge to follow the teachings of Islam in
letter and spirit, adding that everyone should promise
to render every sacrifice for countering conspiracies
against Pakistan. STAff rePOrT

Pakistan continuing to
harbour terrorists: India
NeW DeLhI: The Indian government said on
Sunday Pakistan was continuing to harbour terrorists
on its soil and despite repeated requests it had taken
no steps to dismantle the terror infrastructure there.
“We have been taking up [the issue] with Pakistan. We
have taken [it] up with Pakistan in various forums,
bilateral as well as multilateral. But unfortunately, it
has had no effect on the ground,” Union Home
Secretary RK Singh told reporters in the Indian capital.
He was replying to questions about whether Pakistan
had been taking action to stop cross-border terrorism.
“Though they (Pakistanis) keep telling us that they do
not encourage terrorists or that they do not encourage
people to operate from their soil, on the ground there
has been no difference,” he said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had recently
said there were reports of cross-border camps being
reactivated and attempts being made to induct fresh
batches of militants. ONlINe

Pakistan Army will train
Afghanistan Army
ISTaNBUL: A tripartite conference was held between
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey in Istanbul, on
Sunday. According to Afghanistan’s government, on
the basis of the agreement signed in this conference,
Pakistan Army will train Afghanistan Army. According
to a British channel, the foreign ministry of
Afghanistan has given a confirmation of this
agreement. The Afghan government has stated that on
the basis of this agreement, the armies of these three
countries will practice together in a combined form.
Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua had
already indicated this. She said that during this
conference, two agreements were signed, one was
related to the combined practices of the armies and the
other was about training of the Afghan police forces. NNI

HDF concerned over UN HD report
ISLamaBaD: The Human Development Foundation
(HDF) on Sunday has shown concern over the United
Nations (UN) Human Development report in which
Pakistan had dropped 25 places in the Human
Development Index (HDI) rankings to 145 out of 187
countries during last one year.
HDF Chief executive Officer Azhar Saleem in a
statement said, “Income distribution has worsened and
environmental degradation threatens future prospects
of the country. This matter should be of great concern
to Pakistan.” He said Pakistanis still suffer from
inadequate incomes, limited schooling opportunities,
and life expectancies far below world averages. Azhar
said that the UN HDI measures poverty, literacy,
education, life expectancy and other factors. He said
Pakistan can achieve substantially higher ranking in this
table if there is a coordinated effort by the government
and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
working in Pakistan. STAff rePOrT

Seriousness of PPP government questioned by ‘lack of interest’ in sending nominees
ISLAMABAD

T

TAHIr NIAZ

He seriousness of the government
can be gauged from the fact that it is
yet to submit nominations of its parliamentarians in the National Assembly Secretariat for the formation of
the parliamentary committee on All Parties Conference (APC).
The government had announced to form the
committee, after the much propagated APC, to
oversee the implementation of earlier parliamentary resolutions as well as the APC resolution
passed. All other parties have submitted their
nominations in this regard. According to NA

sources, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami
National Party (ANP), Pakistan Muslim League
(F), parliamentary leaders from FATA have finalised names for committee. MQM has nominated senior member Haider Abbas Rizvi for the
committee. FATA parliamentarians have proposed Munir Orakzai, parliamentary leader of
FATA MNAs. MNA Haji Khuda Bux Rajar has
been nominated from PML-F. PML-N and PMLQ has nominated parliamentarians in this regard.
In the last national assembly session, the
leader of the opposition in national assembly
Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan raised concerns over
the delay in constituting the committee, saying
that the NA session was going to adjourn but the
parliamentary committee has not been consti-

tuted. In response to him, Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani, in the national assembly, said it was
up to parliament to expedite the nomination
process as the matter had been referred to the
speaker.
On it National Assembly Secretariat had written separate letters to party leaders including
Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Asfand Yar Wali,
Maulana Fazalur Rahman, Faisal Saleh Hayat ,
Munir Orakzai and others to send nominations
for the committee. As per the thirteenth (last
point of resolution) point of the APC resolution,
‘a parliamentary committee be formed to oversee
the implementation of earlier resolutions as well
as this Resolution and progress on the same be
made public on monthly basis’.

In an expression of loyalty with
the Pakistan People’s Party
(PPP), the Chaudhrys of Pakistan
Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)
have ordered their party workers
to gear up for a pro-Zardari rally
in order to counter the ‘Go
Zardari Go’ rally organised by the
PML-Nawaz.
Sources said PML-Q President
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had told

its party members to prepare for a
countrywide competition with the
PML-N in order to revive their
party’s image. Sources said Shujaat
had a soft corner for the PML-N,
however former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez elahi was
determined to oppose the Nawazled party.
Sources added that the
Chaudhrys had also asked the PPP
and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement to support them in their proZardari rally.

ABBOTTABAD
INP

Police tortured a pregnant woman on charge of theft and later
shifted her to a hospital after she fell unconscious, on Sunday.
According to details, City Police Station personnel arrested a
pregnant woman over charge of stealing valuables from a house. She
was taken to the City Police Station where she was subjected to
torture. She fell unconscious due to the beating by police and was
taken to a hospital in serious condition.
After regaining consciousness, she told reporters that she was
innocent.
A station house officer (SHO) said that the lady police personnel
were investigating the accused in the police station.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:25 AM Page 3

Monday, 7 November, 2011

News 03

ForeIgN NewS

ArtS & eNtertAINMeNt

SPortS

Thai floods death toll rises above 500

‘rockstar’ cannot allude to ‘free Tibet’

Pakistan ready to tour India first to break the ice: Zaka Misplaced confidence:

CoMMeNt
PM Gilani is too calm given the state of things.

leagues within the league:
The PML(N) in trouble.

basharat Hussain Qizilbash says:
Man of many contradictions: Qaddafi and his eccentricities.

Ali Aftab says:
Who’s got the Khan’s back?: It could be the powers that be…

Waqqas Mir says:
Never another Amir: Our cricketing heart aches.

Story on Page 19

Story on Page 16

Story on Page 20

Articles on Page 12-13

Adopt spirit of sacrifice,
president tells people
ISLAMABAD

P

APP

ReSIDeNT Asif Ali Zardari
on Sunday called upon
people to adopt values of
sacrifice,
brotherhood,
kindness and charity to
create a tolerant and harmonious society. In a message on the auspicious occasion of eidul Adha to be celebrated
on November 7, he said, “I congratulate my countrymen and pray that
Allah Almighty keep them safe and secure and bestow on them happiness of
the two worlds.”
The president said eidul Adha is
about following Sunnat-e-Ibrahimi and
it is celebrated in memory of the profound devotion of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS)
and exemplary submission of Hazrat
Ismail (AS). He said the aim of this sacrifice is to create submission before
Allah and making a promise that “we
will not hesitate to lay down our lives

in fulfillment of the rights of Allah”.
“We should follow eid’s message
of submission to Allah and spread it to
the world besides waging Jehad
against poverty, deprivation and unemployment,” he added. The president
noted the problems being faced by the
nation, including floods and terrorism
and said, “To overcome these challenges, we need values of sacrifice,
brotherhood, fraternity, kindness, tolerance, peace, charity and love more
than ever,” he stressed.
He urged the Muslims to do away
with regional prejudices and religious
intolerance and work for progress and
prosperity of the country and nation.
“I pray to Allah to engender in us the
true spirit of sacrifice as nothing significant can be achieved without sacrifice.
Allah Almighty may keep us safe and
protected,” the president concluded.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yusuf
Raza Gilani urged the people not to
forget families affected by terrorism

and floods, in his message on the occasion of eidul Adha.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Governor Barrister Masood Kausar
also issued a greetings message to the
people of Pakistan and the province.

Shahab promises strong PPP in south Punjab
KHANPUR
APP

‘US was hostile
towards India in
1971 war’
NEW DELHI
ONlINe

Some top secret papers recently
declassified by India on the 1971 war
show that United States was hostile
towards India during the conflict, the
Times of India reported on Sunday.
The documents reveal that India
moved ahead to create Bangladesh
despite reports that Nixon
Administration had put three
battalions of Marines on standby to
deter India, in addition to deploying
the aircraft carrier USS enterprise
with orders to target Indian Army
facilities. The documents show how
the Americans held back
communication regarding Pakistan’s
desire to surrender in Dhaka by
almost a day. The documents claim
that the US 7th Fleet ostensibly
deployed in the Bay of Bengal to
evacuate US nationals could also be
used to attack the Indian military.
They say that the Nixon
administration continued to arm
Pakistan despite imposing an
embargo on providing both
Islamabad and New Delhi military
hardware and support.
They suggest that India suspected the
US was sending weapons to Pakistan
and planned to intercept three
Pakistani vessels for ammunition
before the war. However, India
dropped the plan after its foreign
ministry’s assessment that the move
could trigger hostilities.

Newly-appointed Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP) South Punjab President
Makhdoom Shahabuddin told party
workers in a public gathering at Mianwali Qureshian on Sunday that President Asif Ali Zardari had won the
hearts of the people of southern Punjab by bifurcating and establishing a
separate organisation of the PPP in
southern Punjab.
He said the decision would help
strengthen the party in this part of the
country. The PPP would have better results
in future in southern Punjab, he added.

He thanked the president for giving the right of representation to the
people of southern Punjab and for expressing confidence in him and appointing him the regional president of
the party. He said the PPP was a popular party in the country and would
sweep the next general elections on the
basis of its performance. He said the
PPP would create a Saraiki province
and give due rights to the people of the
province. The PPP leader said construction of the Benazir Shaheed
Bridge would begin in the current
month. After completion of the project, people of Chachran Sharif and Kot
Mithan would be linked, he added.

Kashmiri leader
rejects PakistanIndia trade pact
mUZaFFaraBaD: Pakistanis should
rise and compel their government to
withdraw a decision to grant Most
Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India,
a Kashmiri separatist leader said on
Sunday. Kashmiri separatists have
rejected the Pakistan-India trade pact,
saying it was being done under pressure
from the United States. “Pakistani
government is taking dictation from
America and this deal is also result of
that dictation,” Syed Ali Geelani said in a
telephonic address to the Muzaffarabad
Press Club, from Srinagar, the capital of
Indian-held Kashmir. “It is a great
source of pain for us to see Pakistan
granting MFN status to India when
Indian security forces are raping our
women and destroying Islamic culture,”
said Geelani. “I appeal to the Pakistani
nation to protest on this development so
that the government is compelled to take
back its decision,” he said. Pakistan
Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N)
President Nawaz Sharif, PML-N
Convener Raja Farooq Haider and
Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Maulana
Abdul Aziz Alvi have assured support to
Geelani. “The entire nation is ready. We
will not step back an inch from our
stance because freedom is our
destination,” Alvi said. AfP

Minor killed after
being sodomised
by four teenagers
haFIZaBaD: An 8-year-old boy was
strangulated to death after being sexually
abused in the Chattadad town of Hafizabad on Sunday, police said. Hafizabad
District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rab
said that Amir Ali, son of Hamid, was strangulated to death after being sexually abused
by four teenagers. After committing the
loathsome act, they dumped the boy’s body
near a local mosque, he added. The DPO
said four suspected teenagers had already been arrested. He assured that police would punish all those involved in
the gruesome incident. INP

PPP to show strength
in Nov 13 rally

AbANDONDeD: A rare glimpse of an empty lahore railway Station platform. INP

KaraChI: Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) is preparing to show its strength
and support for the leadership especially
President Asif Ali Zardari on November
13, PPP Karachi Division Secretary
General Saeed Ghani said on Sunday.
The rally, organized by PPP Karachi
division, will start at 1400 hours from
Tower at MA Jinnah Road and
terminate at Jamia Cloth Market after
being addressed by Sindh Chief
Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, PPP
ministers and the party officials of
Karachi. Saeed said the local PPP
officials and workers were making their
best efforts to make this rally a great
success. “Against Pakistan Muslim
League – Nawaz (PML-N) leadership
who brought people from all over
Punjab for their recent show in Lahore,
our rally will be restricted to Karachi
only. We have good strength here,” PPP
leader remarked. He said PPP local
leadership was finalizing logistic and
security arrangements for the rally. NNI

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:25 AM Page 4

04 News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Big names in close
contact with PTI
Continued froM page 1
They include Awais Leghari,
Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Ishaq
Khakwani, Jamal Leghari and
Sardar Tufail. Most of the 14
former ministers had been
members of the PML-Q. They
said they would formally announce their loyalty to the PTI
after eidul Adha.
No opporTUNISm: Another PTI leader said that his
party was not banking on opportunist parliamentarians,
and rather a new cadre was
being searched to replace the
country’s existing political
leadership.
“Although former parliamentarians Mian Azhar, Noor
Mohammed Khan Bhabha,
Tahir Rashid and others have
already joined the PTI, the decision to award party tickets
will be taken by a party board
after thorough discussions and
considering ground facts,” the
PTI leader said. The source said
that in addition to parliamentarians, Iftikhar Jhagra, Sardar
George Faisal Zaman, Sardar
Yousaf Ayyub and Parvez Khattak and several other politicians
from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
were willing to join.
PTI Additional Secretary
Saifullah Khan Niazi also confirmed that several parliamentarians were in contact with

Imran Khan, but the party was
not in a hurry to bank all of
them. “We would welcome the
newcomers, but our ideological workers are our main asset.
South Punjab and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa are the key
areas from where strong politicians are contacting Imran
Khan to join the party. People
would see major surprises in
November, as a number of
politicians will join the PTI this
month,” Niazi said. He added
that the newcomers would include current and former parliamentarians, and former
ticket-holders of major political parties called ‘electables’.
When asked if those newcomers would include leaders
from the PPP, PML-N and
PML-Q, Niazi said such people
were in the ‘pipeline’ and their
PTI membership would be announced accordingly, as election Commission’s rules
prevent members to switch
party affiliation. “They will
make the announcement when
and if needed,” he said without
revealing the names of parliamentarians who were planning to join the PTI. He said
‘key electables’ were in contact
with the PTI chief and other
leaders either directly or
through mutual friends, however he refused to disclose
their names.

issues on the composite dialogue agenda and Prime Minister Gilani will himself deliver
this message to his Indian
counterpart during their meeting in Maldives,” said a senior
Pakistani official here on Sunday, requesting anonymity.
He said Pakistan would
tell India it did not want the
peace process to get derailed
again after any subversive act
the way it happened in November 2008, when terrorists
struck in Mumbai and New
Delhi suspended dialogue with
Islamabad after blaming it for
supporting the militant that attacked India’s financial hub.
Pakistan’s military and
civilian leaders have undergone
serious in-house consultations
before the meeting and they feel
that now is the time the South
Asian nuclear neighbours
should move towards the settlement of bilateral issues no matter how complicated they are.
“We feel that there have been
decades-long talks on Kashmir
and other issues and off late the
two sides have been able to

PARIS
reUTerS

flOWerS fOr SOMeONe? A vendor displays flowers to attract customers at a roadside stall in Quetta. ONLINE

Iranian cleric dismisses
‘empty’ Israel threats
g

warmongers in Israel and the United States call for pre-emptive strike
TEHRAN
reUTerS

Pakistan to stress
resolution
Continued froM page 1

France hit by
storms in south,
three dead

come up with important confidence-building measures, but
unfortunately none of the eight
major issues on the composite
dialogue agenda has been resolved. It’s time now to strive for
their settlement,” the official
said. Another Pakistani official
told Pakistan Today that the
talks for normalisation of trade
ties between the two countries
and for the purpose of granting
Most Favoured Nation (MFN)
status to India would also be an
important part of Gilani’s talks
with Singh.
FoUr
aGreemeNTS:
Meanwhile, Indian Foreign
Secretary Ranjan Mathai told
reporters on Sunday the Indian premier would ink four
agreements at the summit covering the establishment of a
SAARC seed bank, multilateral
arrangement on recognition of
conformity assessment, and
rapid response to natural disaster and implementation of
regional standards.
Foreign secretaries of
SAARC will meet on November 7 and 8 to finalise the
agenda of the summit and the
summit declaration.

A

senior Iranian
cleric on Sunday
dismissed talk
of a military
strike by Israel
as empty propaganda, taunting the Jewish state for
screaming “like a cornered
cat” rather than roaring like a
lion.
Israeli media have speculated that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet consensus to attack Iranian nuclear sites as
Western diplomats say new
evidence that Tehran researching ways to build atom
bombs will be published this

week.
Some analysts dismiss
the speculation as part of a
strategy of psychological
warfare to raise pressure on
Iran and bolster a case for
harsher international sanctions sought by Washington,
rather than endorse or participate in military action.
“The recent threats of
the Zionist regime against
Iran are more for internal
consumption for themselves
and their masters who are
struggling with the Wall
Street movement,” said Ayatollah Mahmoud Alavi, referring to anti-capitalism
protests that began in New
York and have spread
around the world.

“There is a difference between the roar of a lion and
the scream of a cat that has
been trapped in a corner,” he
said. “And this threat of the
Zionist regime and its master
America is like the scream of a
cornered cat.”
Alavi, a member of the
Assembly of experts, a body
that appoints and supervises
Iran’s supreme leader, said
Israel would not dare attack
Iran. “If they make such a
mistake they will receive a
crushing response from the
Islamic Republic,” he told the
official IRNA news agency.
Iran says it would respond to any attack by striking US interests in the region
and could close the Gulf to oil

traffic, causing massive disruption to global crude supplies.
TICKING CLoCK: Israeli
President Shimon Peres said
on Friday that Western intelligence services were “looking
at the ticking clock, warning
leaders that there is not much
time left” to stop Iran getting
the bomb.
Iran is already under four
rounds of United Nations
sanctions due to concerns
about its nuclear programme,
which it says is entirely
peaceful. Washington is
pushing for tighter measures
after discovering what it says
was an Iranian plot to kill the
Saudi ambassador to the
United States.

Russia, China to discuss Pakistan’s SCO membership
moSCoW: Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin and
his Chinese counterpart Wen
Jiabao will meet Monday to
discuss expanding their loose
Central Asian security alliance
to include Pakistan and Iran.
Putin will host Wen in his
native city of Saint Petersburg
almost exactly 10 years after
the two countries joined forces
with the four ex-Soviet Central
Asian republics to form the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Russia has previously billed the alliance as a

regional alternative to NATO
and discussed at past meetings the option of including
other regional powers in its
ranks.
“We are talking about Pakistan and Iran, which have applied
for
membership,”
Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told reporters ahead of
the talks. “India is also intent
on joining, and Afghanistan
has said it wants to be an observer,”
the
Russian
spokesman said. But analysts

said China prefers to view the
group as primarily an economic organisation and note
that Pakistan’s membership
has already been under discussion for five years. Russia is
also upset that the group still
receives no formal recognition
from NATO. “Of course, SCO
expansion is not an easy
process. It requires careful
analysis and assessment,” the
Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman conceded.
The meeting between Wen
and Putin will be their second

since the Russian premier announced in September plans to
next year regain the Kremlin
post he held in 2000-2008.
Bilateral relations are particularly important to Russia’s
attempts to find new Asian
clients for its energy exports
just as european growth
stalls. A top Russian official
said the meeting will note
slowing global growth’s impact on the price of commodities - the bulk of Russia’s
exports - and financial market
stability. AfP

Heavy rains and flooding in
southern France over the
weekend forced the evacuation of about 600 people
and killed three people on
Sunday.
Rivers overran their banks,
flooding streets and homes
and leaving hundreds
stranded. Television images
showed cars floating along
roads and residents mopping up their sodden,
muddy homes.
A retired couple, both aged
71, in the southeastern
coastal town of Bagnols en
Foret died late Saturday
night or Sunday morning
from carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to bail
out rising water in their cellar, police said.
On Saturday, police said
they found the body of a 51year-old homeless man who
had been washed away from
his campsite in the Herault
southern region.

Mirza demands
BB’s killers
Continued froM page 1
were sold by Zahid Bhurgary. Mirza equated those
who joined ranks with the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to an association with a ‘Yazidee gang’.
He said he failed to make
President Asif Ali Zardari
understand his point of view
and that was why he had
now turned to the people,
saying he was committed to
the cause of Sindh’s rights.
WaSSaN: Separately,
Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wassan told a public
rally in Goth Talpu Road on
Sunday that “politicians of
land” were now criticising
the principled politicians.
He said the next general
elections would be held in
November 2012 and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
would win again, Geo News
reported.
Wassan said 2012 would be
the year of general elections,
and asked workers to prepare for the polls from now.
“We will complete our
term,” he told those who he
said were hoping to see the
government fall.
The minister said peace had
now been restored in
Karachi to a great extent
and he would start meetings
with the tribal leaders in
Sindh to seek their support
against robbers terrorising
the people in interior Sindh.

The world’s Muslims on Sunday marked the eidul Adha
overshadowed by the Arab
uprising and deadly attacks
in Africa and Central Asia.
This year the feast coincides
with the turmoil of the
democracy protests that
swept the Arab world and led
to the ouster of the autocratic leaders of Tunisia,
egypt and Libya.
eid was being observed
amid fears and tears in Nigeria, two days after attacks
claimed by Islamists killed at
least 150 people in the northeastern city of Damaturu.

Thousands gathered for eid
prayers at an open ground in
Damaturu patrolled by
dozens of armed police following Friday’s gun and
bomb attacks.
In Libya, people were
struggling to find the funds
to mark the feast due to skyrocketing prices in the wake
of an eight-month rebellion.
In
Syria,
devotees
emerged from eid prayers on
Sunday morning to rally
against President Bashar alAssad’s regime despite a
protest crackdown which according to the United Nations has killed at least 3,000
people since March. And the
security forces shot dead at

least another 10 civilians,
most of them in the restive
central city of Homs.
The latest bloodshed
came as Syrian state radio
reported Assad himself attended Al-Nur mosque in the
northern town of Raqqa for
morning prayers to mark the
Muslim holy day.
In Yemen, where protesters have been calling for
President Ali Abdullah
Saleh’s ouster since January,
dissident general Ali Mohsen
al-Ahmar said his forces
foiled a regime plot to blow
up a car as he prayed in
Sanaa. In Gaza City, Ismail
Haniya, head of the Islamist
Hamas government, ad-

dressed worshippers at the
Palestine Mosque, and
hailed the feast as the “eid of
Freedom” for the Arab
world. Haniya said the feast
was also an “eid of Victory,”
hailing a landmark prisoner
swap deal that saw the movement free captured Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit in return
for 1,027 jailed Palestinians.
In Saudi Arabia, almost
three million pilgrims began
stoning pillars representing
Satan after massing in a valley near the holy city of
Mina, the last and most dangerous rite of the annual hajj.
“This ritual gives me moral
strength. Right now I feel as
though I’m defeating Satan,”

said Mokhtar Khan, a 29year-old who arrived at the
site with dozens of fellow
Bangladeshis who chanted
“Allahu Akbar” (God is
greatest). But despite their
prayers, the first day of eidul
Adha was marred by more
violence around the Muslim
world.
elsewhere
in
Afghanistan, a suicide
bomber killed seven people,
mostly civilians, as they returned from eid prayers at a
mosque in the northern city
of Baghlan.
And in Iraq, four bombs
exploded in Baghdad’s
Shorjah market, killing at
least one person and
wounding eight.

leave at least 10 dead

BaGhDaD: At least 10 people were killed when three
bomb blasts rocked a busy market in Iraq’s capital on
Sunday where people were shopping for the Muslim
festival of eidul Adha. The blasts occurred in Shurja,
an important commercial district in central Baghdad
where shop owners and vendors sell clothes, electronics, textiles, food and other goods. “I can see fire and
black smoke rising and a large number of fire engines,
ambulances and police patrols rushing to the market,”
a witness close to Shurja market said. Police sources
said 10 people had been killed in the attack and a
source at Baghdad’s central morgue said it had received 10 bodies. A source at al-Kindi hospital in
Baghdad put the toll at eight killed and 26 wounded.
“The reason behind the fire was sabotage. The perpetrators used gasoline to set ablaze the market,” Major
General Qassim al-Moussawi, a spokesman for Baghdad security operations, said. reUTerS

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:25 AM Page 5

Monday, 7 November, 2011

The day all ‘Sheelas’
and ‘Munnis’ will be
sacrificed
PAge 08

Sorry, no last-minute
discounts this time
LAHORE

D

AlI TAHIr

eCReASeD supplies and the
last-minute increase in demand triggered a surge in cattle prices making it difficult for
people to buy sacrificial animal
just hours before eidul Adha.
Hundreds of people flocking to the
markets on Sunday were expecting a lastminute discount but were caught by surprise by the meteoric increase in prices.
“An average-sized goat which was being
sold for Rs 16,000 yesterday is being sold
for Rs 23,000 today, I can’t believe how
much the prices have climbed in just a
few hours,” said Dr Hamza Khan a father
of two. He said he had visited the same
market yesterday to get an idea of the
prices but was shocked to see the steep
rise in prices the very next day.
Cattle sellers held the low supplies of
livestock responsible for the hike in prices.
“The demand is way more than the supply
and people have just started buying the animals,” said ehtesham, a cattle dealer. He
said he was present at the cattle market for
3 consecutive days now but the market was
in a slump. “Very few buyers were seen in
the market yesterday and days before that,
maybe that was the reason why the prices
were lower previously, but now that the
people are finally coming in, the prices
have increased,” he said. Another cattle
dealer while quoting prices said calves
were the most expensive animal this year.
“An average-sized goat costs Rs 20,000 to
Rs 25,000 while cows are for Rs 40,000,”
he said, adding that the prices were expected to come down after midnight.
Cattle traders speculate that 600,000
livestock which includes all sort of sacrificial animals were brought to the metropolis this year, while 1 million scarifies are

g

Citizens surprised at
the meteoric increase
in cattle prices just
hours before eid

expected to be done in the capital of Punjab defying the shortfall in the supply of
livestock for eid. Cattle markets had
started filling up with buyers as the day
came to an end. Five major cattle markets
that were considered to be hot zones for
livestock transactions included LDA Avenue, Ferozepure Road Kahnah, Saggian
Bridge, Jallo and Ferozwala.
GeNeraL eID ShoppING: Whereas
there were traffic jams around the sale
points, generally the city was empty as the
citizens had swarmed to bazaars for general eid shopping. Women were seen busy
in buying grocery for the big day to pad up
the meat fiesta. “I am here to buy all necessary items needed on eid, especially
knives, shopping bags, onions, tomatoes,
yogurt, fizzy drinks, fruits, sweet for desert
and things needed for barbeque,” said
Samina a young housewife and a mother of
three, while shopping at CSD. She said the
main attraction on eid was food and she
loved to cook for her family.
Thousands scuttled to the different
markets of the city including Liberty Market, Model Town Link Road, Fortress Stadium, Moon Market, Ichhra and Anarkali
to get their dresses, bangles and other eid
related items. Although such shopping
normally happens during eidul Fitr but it
seemed that many had come to the bazaars
because of the pleasant weather. Readymade Kurta Shalwar remained the favorite
option for males whereas girls went for the
matching jewellery, sandals and bangles.

Where is everyone?
LAHORE
NASIr bUTT

empty roads and shops on Sunday made
the absence of over 3 million people who
have left the city for their native hometowns strongly felt.
Rush on the city’s exit points on Saturday proved it to be the climax of mass
exodus that takes place in Lahore right before eid. Long queues of vehicles were

seen on GT Road, Multan Road, Ferozepur
Road as people took leave of Lahore to
spend the extended weekend of eid and
Iqbal Day holidays in their native towns.
The city roads and bazaars were empty, so
were the cattle markets, so much so that
the youngsters were seen playing cricket
on the city’s main roads which are usually
the hub of activity on normal days.
Overcharging by the transporters, who
see this exodus as a grand opportunity to

make profit, also remained a main feature.
The fare for Islamabad was doubled just
two days before eid. Many passengers
were seen complaining of this sudden
price hike right before eid, whilst the
transporters maintained that the increase
was due to the general level of inflation.
Interestingly, not even a single official from the Transport Department
Squad was present to check the overcharging by the transporters.

He number of customers and the
prices of fruits and vegetables saw a
sharp rise in the pre-eid Sunday
bazaars. The prices of chicken declined further due to less demand and
it was sold for Rs 135 per kg.
The prices of all vegetables soared since they
were in high demand before eid. The prices of
tomatoes skyrocketed and touched Rs 90 per kg,
as compared to previous week when it was sold for
Rs 75 per kg.
The prices of onions also increased Rs 5 per kg
and it was sold for Rs 50-55 per kg. The prices of
green chillies showed a huge jump and it was sold
for Rs 75-80 per kg as compared to last week
when it was sold for Rs 45 per kg. The prices of
garlic also showed Rs 5 per kg increase and it was
sold for Rs 90 per kg.
The shopkeepers said the number of customers doubled and their sales had surge. “There
was huge demand and great rush in the bazaar,”

Zoo organises eid programmes

per dozen

This Week

grapes

garlic

This Week

This Week

38

105

50

last Week

last Week

last Week

35

95
potato

45
apple

said a shopkeeper Mumtaz Ahmed at Green Town
Sunday bazaar.
The consumers said the provincial and district

Like the previous years,
the
again
once
government has failed to
control the prices of vegetables
before eidul Adha
WAMIQ SArWAr

Customer

guava

government remained absent from the scene and
the profiteers got a golden opportunity for minting money from the customers. “Like the previous
years, once again the government has failed to
control the prices of vegetables before eidul Adha
and the hoarders are making millions,” said a customer Wamiq Sarwar at Walton Road Sunday
bazaar. He said it was not hard to control the
prices and the fact was that the government did
not want to do it.
The chicken sellers said chicken prices are had
decreased because of less demand. “Often people
stop buying chicken before eidul Adha and it results in decline in demand and price,” said a
chicken seller Abid Ali.

PU lecturer receives
honour from SCIS
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Punjab University College of
Information Technology
(PUCIT) Lecturer Omer
Nawaz’s MS thesis titled
“Secure Identification in
Social Wireless Networks” has
been published by the
Swedish Institute of
Computer Science (SCIS).
Omer has also received a
stipend of SeK 20,000
(approximately Rs 260,000),
which is only paid after
successful achievement of
industrial requirements and
publication in SICS.
Currently, Omer Nawaz is in
Sweden, pursuing his PhD in
Computer engineering from
Blekinge Institute of
Technology (BTH), Sweden.
earlier this year he completed
his MS, also from BTH.
pU DeLeGaTIoN To
oFFer FaTeha aT
IQBaL’S maUSoLeUm:
PU acting Vice Chancellor Dr
Khawaja Haris Rasheed, with
a delegation of teachers,
administrative officers,
employees and students, will
offer fateha and lay a floral
wreath at the mausoleum of
Allama Iqbal on the eve of
Iqbal Day on Wednesday.
LLB DaTeSheeT
aNNoUNCeD: PU
examinations Department
has issued the written
examination date sheets of
LLB, Part-I, Part-II and PartIII, Supplementary
examination 2011. The LLB
Part-I exams would
commence from November
28, Part-II exams from
November 29, while the PartIII exam would commence
from November 30, 2011.
Detailed date sheets are also
available on PU’s website.
BCom, parT-I, aNNUaL
eXam From DeC 9: PU
examinations Department
has revised the date of
commencement of BCom,
Part-I, 2nd Annual exams.

Lahore: Lahore Zoo has chalked out special programmes,
including puppet shows, variety shows, drama and other
entertainment to attract visitors especially children during
eidul Adha holidays. Director of Lahore Zoological Gardens
Shafqat Ali told APP on Sunday that wildlife guides would
be deployed at various important points, especially near tiger
and bear cages, to provide information to visitors regarding
their natural habitat, habits, average life span and food.
Tigers, lions and monkeys are likely to be the centre of
attraction for visitors, especially children who enjoy each and
every action of these animals. Shafqat disclosed that a small
area has also been earmarked for “jumping jacks” for the
kids. “Leaflets and stickers relating to the Lahore Zoo
describing its history and the origin of its wildlife wealth
would be given free of cost to visitors for their information,”
he said. Special ticket booths, four each for men and women,
would also be established at both entry points of the Zoo to
facilitate visitors, he said, adding that foolproof security
arrangements had also been made. APP

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:25 AM Page 7

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Lahore 07

Who CAReS WhAt CdGL SAyS?

Uninterrupted
power supply
on eid: LeSCo

Sellers storm into the city
with their herds
LAHORE

A

STAff rePOrT

large number of cattle traders
selling animals for sacrifice, violating city district government’s (CDGL) orders, entered
into the city and sold animals
on Sunday.
In order to keep the city clean, the
CDGL had barred the sellers from entering the city and had established six
points. These points include LDA Avenue, Shahpur Kanjra, Sagian Bridge,
Burki Road, Quaid-e-Azam Interchange
Ring Road near China Scheme and
Kacha Ferozpure Road. However, visiting these sale points which are located
far from the main city was a cause of
problem for the customers, who had to
spend extra money to transport these
animals back into the city to their
homes. The sellers, in order to boost
sales, entered the city while the CDGL
administration did not take any measures to stop them.
The sellers were found on many
roads and areas of the city including Bedian Road, Walton Road, Haider Road,
Township, Ferozepure Road, College
Road and Iqbal Town. The buyers, satis-

g

A rush to book
online butchers
as new trend
arrives in city
LAHORE
YASIr HAbIb

With the advent of eid, butchers have
started advertising their services on the
internet. People can now book the services of butchers online, without the
hassle of chasing after local kisais, who

Lahore electric Supply Company
(LeSCO) has established special
centres in all sub-divisions to
address the complaints of consumers
during eid holidays.
The LeSCO spokesman said the
special centres would work around
the clock for uninterrupted power
supply. He said consumers could also
contact telephone numbers 03454950888, 23-7232470 and 118 in
case of any complaint. He said the
LeSCO staff would give high
priority to addressing the
consumers’ problems.

Complain of fewer sales at the sale points
which are ‘far from the city’

Police to remain
on high alert
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

fied over not having to go all the way to
the sale points, were also seen visiting
these new markets.
“We can’t go all the way to the sale

Butchers go online
g

LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

are notorious for overcharging and tardiness.
This new trend has sparked a race
to book butchers online. Websites actively providing the services of butchers
are http://bakraonline.pk/kasai_online.php and http://www.hafeezcentre.pk/Services/Sasta-Kasai.
Almost all online kisais have been
booked for all three days of eid. Their
service charges vary from Rs 1,300 to
1,600 for a goat, Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000
for a cow and Rs. 5,000 to Rs 8,000 for
a camel depending upon the locality
and distance.
“Teams of professional butchers
have been assigned. They are punctual,
and as per our policy, they are bound to

points. The CDGL should have thought
of this,” said Azmat Hussain, a seller.
“CDGL has made a poor arrangement. Our sales have decreased because
neither receive tips nor meat, a practise
for which traditional butcher are famous,” Umar Shahbaz, who received
online booking for butchers told Pakistan Today.
“We have a butcher for every location, and accessibility is not a problem,”
Rahil,
who
operates
www.hafeezcentre.pk/Services/SastaKasai, said.
Meanwhile, rates of traditional
butchers have been reported at an alltime high. Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 are
being demanded for slaughtering of a
goat, while Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 are
being charged for a cow and calf, which
is almost out of reach for a common
man. For slaughtering a bull, the prices
have increased from Rs 7,000 this to
Rs8000 to Rs10,000 this year, depending upon the size and weight, Zahid
Khan, a butcher in Garden Town, said
the reason behind the increase in rates
was inflation.

the customers aren’t coming to the sale
points hence we have brought our animals inside the city,” said a seller
Rafakat Ali.

Nawaz makes
a silent return
for eid
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Amid confusion on whether to return after
eid or Muharram, Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif,
considered by his fans a real “lion” and
“crowd-puller”, is back to home after his
tour of Turkey and London, albeit quietly,
to heal the political wounds his party
suffered during his 14-day absence and
undoubtedly to stir the political teacup
ahead of senate elections.
He would celebrate eid with his family at
his residence in Raiwind. Former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif flew to Turkey on
the invitation of the Turkish president and
prime minister on October 21. During his
seven-day stay in Turkey, he met Turkish
President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip erdogan, the Istanbul
governor, top Turkish leadership and other
high officials. Upon completion of his
successful tour of Turkey, Nawaz left for
London on October 28 for a medical
checkup. PML-N Information Secretary
Mushahidullah told Pakistan Today that
Nawaz came back as per schedule.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO)
Ahmad Raza Tahir has said Lahore
Police officials would celebrate their
eid by ensuring a secure atmosphere
for the citizens.
The CCPO called upon Lahore Police
personnel to leave no stone unturned
to serve the masses. He said Lahore
Police would remain on high alert on
the occasion of eid to ensure
maintenance of law and order. He
said in order to achieve this objective,
more than 10,000 police officials,
divisional superintendents of police,
supervisory police officers, station
house officers, sub-inspectors and
assistant sub-inspectors had been
deputed at various sensitive points in
the city. He said Police emergency 15
would also remain on high alert in
order to take prompt action on any
complaints. The CCPO appealed to
religious leaders and citizens to
cooperate with the police to make its
security plan a success.

expert recommends
camel meat
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Pakistan Council of Herbal Physicians
Secretary General Hakeem Qazi MA
Khalid has said the camel meat,
though rarely available normally, is
available in abundance on eidul Adha
and curses old fever, pain, hepatitis C
and urine diseases. The camel meat is
also useful as a general tonic for
neurological weakness of human
body, he said, adding even a 100
grams of it are enough.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 8

08 Lahore

The day all ‘Sheelas’ and
‘Munnis’ will be sacrificed

weAtHer UPDAteS

28
°C
High
15Low0C

Sellers are naming animals after Bollywood characters while buyers
look for a higher meaning behind the ritual

SUNNY

tUeSDAY weDNeSDAY tHUrSDAY
28°C I 16°C

29°C I 19°C

28°C I 17°C

PrAYer tIMINgS
Fajr Sunrise
05:01 06:22

Zuhr
11:47

Asr
14:48

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Maghrib
17:10

Isha
18:32

eid is a reminder that
the things we love the
most are to be
sacrificed for god every single day
of our lives
ISHTIAQ GONDAl

UYING an animal named by the
seller after a famous Bollywood
character, decorating it with ornaments and henna and then sacrificing it on the day of eid are all
part of the qurbani tradition of the city.
The cattle traders are using the technique
of naming the animals to attract customers.
A healthy bakra could be Don and a naughty
one is usually named Sheela or Munni. Not
only traders but the buyers have also picked
up the trend.
Clerics, however, have advised against it,
saying that sacrifice is an act of worship and
such obscenities should not be introduced.
Youngsters, especially children, are especially enjoying buying ornaments and decorations for their animals while different shops
have also emerged on different street corners
for the same. A necklace and anklets, which usually cost Rs 20 and Rs 40 normally, are being
sold for Rs 100 and Rs 200.
“I admit I am selling these things at double
the price,” said Ali Akber, a vendor selling cattle
ornaments in the Cantonment area, “but I am
doing this to provide food to my family. We
don’t have the luxury of being able to arrange
something special for eid.”
“This sacrifice is for God so we try to present
it in the best possible manner,” said a teenager
Imran Mehboob, who was out walking his sheep
that he had purchased two days ago. “My father
bought the sheep and I bought ornaments for it
from my own pocket money. I also named it
Princess,” he added.
“I want my cow to look pretty,” said Syed
Hashmat Ali, who had just bought it from Saggian Bridge sale point.
“Sacrifice is a lot more than just showing
one’s animal off or decorating it. eid is a reminder that the things we love the most are to
be sacrificed for God every single day of our
lives,” said Ishtiaq Gondal an Islamic Studies
scholar at the University of Punjab.

35863950
37588649/37535435

CoMPLAINt
wAPDA
SUI gAS

111-000-118
1199

rAILwAYS
CItY StAtIoN (INQUIrY)
reServAtIoN
rAILwAY PoLICe

117
99201772
1333

AIrPort
FLIgHt INQUIrY
PIA reServAtIoN

114
111-786-786

imAGinAtion FAShion ShoWCASe

ACtinG 101

SpACe, LiGht, StRuCtuRe

CoLLegeS / UNIverSItIeS
PUNJAB UNIverSItY
KINNAIrD CoLLege
QUeeN MArY CoLLege
govt. CoLLege UNIverSItY
UMt
LUMS
Uet
LCwU
SUPerIor CoLLege

DAte AND tIMe: NoveMBer 13, 7:00 PM
veNUe: tHe KNowLeDge FACtorY
experience the cutting edge of young & upcoming
fashion designers at tKF. From inventive to classic,
feel the magic these young hands create at tKF on
9th nov, 2011.

DAte: oCtoBer 29-DeCeMBer 18,
veNUe: tHe KNowLeDge FACtorY

DAte: NoveMBer 12 to 16, 2011
veNUe: NAIrANg gALLerY, LAHore

ACtINg 101 is a two month certification course for
anyone aged 16 and above who wants to learn the basics
of stage, theater, acting, script writing. the course will
particularly focus on teaching students improvisation,
facial expressions, stage movement, theater ethics and
understanding plays.

exhibition of Photography by, Maryam Arif
"In modern times Photography has moved in as a strong
Art form. recently Art galleries have recognized photography
as a strong Art medium, and there have been frequent
Photography exhibitions.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 9

Monday, 7 November, 2011

News 09

‘Mengal has offered to help CPr tells US policymakers to
choose
trade-based
strategy
diffuse Balochistan crisis’
tells them to establish Pakistan enterprise Fund to
stimulate private-sector development
g

ISLAMABAD
ArIf TAJ

P

AKISTAN People’s Party
(PPP) Senator Lashkari
Raisani said on Sunday that
prominent Baloch leader Attaullah Mengal to held end the
Balochistan crisis, and asked the establishment to take Mengal’s offer seriously.
Talking to Pakistan Today about his
meeting with Mengal, the senator said
the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the common grounds which could
help end violence in the province. “I
met the Baloch leader last week and he
wanted to play a positive role in resolving the Balochistan crisis,” Raisani
said.
When asked if he had met the
Baloch leader on behalf of the PPP government, he said, “I have been in contact with various political leaders in
Balochistan because a dangerous great
game is being played in our province

with the help of certain foreign forces.
We want to save our people and
province from disaster”. He added that
he had been active for resolving the
issue and had also convinced some
groups for negotiations.
“Recently I met some armed groups

No stone will be
left unturned to
save nuclear
assets: SPD head
ISLAMABAD
STAff rePOrT

No stone will be left unturned to secure
Pakistan’s nuclear installations and assets,
Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Director
General Major General Muhammad Tahir
said on Sunday.
Tahir was chief guest at the graduation parade of a fresh batch of 700 security force
trainee officials in Rawalpindi after they
completed six months of advanced training
in nuclear security.
An ISPR statement said Tahir expressed
his satisfaction on the quality of training
imparted and motivation of trainee officials. He said extensive resources had been
made available to train, equip, deploy and
sustain an independent and potent security force to meet threats to the nuclear
program.
He said the SPD planed to increase its capacity by inducting an additional 8,000
personnel in the nuclear security force.
Training is being imparted at the SPD training academy where recently retired SPD Director General Lieutenant Gen (r) Khalid
Ahmed Kidwai reviewed the graduation parade of a batch of 200 trainee officials.

who wanted to talk to the establishment and resolve the issue of law and
order in the province but the establishment did not respond”, said the PPP
senator.
“Now I met Attaullah Mengal so
that a lowest common denominator
could be evolved to bring the situation
under control through political initiatives. Mengal has influence in the area
and experience which can help in brining peace in the province and convince
the people to that common denominator,” Raisani said. However when asked
what could be that common denominator, he refused to give details.
When asked if the establishment
supported his initiative, he refused to
comment, but added that he would
soon meet other leaders on the issue.
He said the situation was extremely
tense in the educational institutions in
Balochistan, and that some elements
wanted to exploit the situation and convert the insurgency to sectarian and
ethnic violence.

Families of killed
miners await
compensation
peShaWar: A relative of the marble mine workers who were killed during stone sliding in the mine,
demanded the chief minister and All
Pakistan Workers Welfare Board to
grant compensation for the loss of
labourers’ lives. Talking to reporters,
Imdadullah said that six of his relatives
were killed in the marble mine when a
heavy rock fell on them while they
were loading a truck. He said that
among the six persons killed, two were
owners of the mine and four were daily
wagers and sole bread earners of their
children. He said that the families of
the victims were in desperate need of
help. He appealed to chief Minister
and president of All Pakistan workers
welfare board to provide compensation
to the families as they were awaiting
assistance from the government.
heavy SeCUrITy IN peShaWar : The Capital City Police
has chalked out a security plan to prevent any untoward incident during the
eidul Adha holidays. Heavy contingents of police and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) would be deployed on
mosques, Imam Bargahs and other
important public places to prevent terrorist activities during the three days
of eidul Adha. STAff rePOrT

Afghans in Pakistan
celebrate Eid on Sunday
PESHAWAR
NNI

eidul Adha was celebrated in Saudi
Arabia, the Gulf
states and in the
Afghan camps in
Pakistan on Sunday.
The
Afghans
living in refugee
camps in northwest
Pakistan celebrated
the occasion with
Saudi Arabia. The
camps
include
Shamshatu, Zanday, Baghban and
Harasan. Over a
hundred thousand
people attended the
largest eid congregation at Shamshatu camp. Strict security arrangements were made for the congregation. europe, United States and the Far eastern countries also celebrated the eid on
Sunday. In Britain, over 1,500 small and large eid congregations were held, while in
France the main congregation for eid was held in the central mosque of Paris. In the
US, major eid congregations were held in Virginia, Maryland and New York. Pakistanis
are celebrating the eid today (Monday).

WASHINGTON
NNI

The Council on Pakistan Relations (CPR), a
non-profit advocacy organisation to represent Pakistani Americans, called on Congress to support a trade-based policy toward
Pakistan beginning with establishing an enterprise Fund to stimulate private sector
economic development.
The FY 2012 State Department/Foreign
Operations appropriations bill, approved in
September by the Senate Appropriations
Committee, includes a provision to establish
enterprise funds in Pakistan, along with
three Mideast countries.
It is modeled on legislation introduced
in 2010 by Senators John Kerry and Charles
Lugar, the Pakistan-American enterprise
Fund Act, designed to hasten private enterprise growth, using funds already allocated
for economic assistance to the region.
Like last year’s bill, the current Senate
provision would allocate previously appro-

priated aid funds and provide emerging Pakistani businesses with the capital necessary
to grow and help stabilize the country’s
economy.
Small to medium size businesses make
up almost 90% of all Pakistani enterprises,
employ 80% of the non-agriculture work
force, and constitute some 40% of the gross
domestic product. With foreign investment
sharply falling off in recent years, Pakistan’s
private economy is a difficult state.
The Council has also urged Members of
Congress to reintroduce Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) legislation, which
would lower tariffs on Pakistan exports from
certain regions of the country most impacted by terrorism and natural disasters.
In discussions on Capitol Hill, CPR has
argued for a U.S. economic development
policy with a renewed focus on trade, both
bilateral and regional. CPR met with Rep.
Charles Boustany (R-7th/LA) and Rep.
Todd Young (R-9th/IN), both of whom
voiced support for trade-based aid.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 10

10 News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

gilani leaves
for russia to
attend SCo
summit
ISLAMABAD
APP

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani left
for a two-day visit to the Russian city
of St Petersburg to represent Pakistan
at the 10th Heads of Government
meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) on Sunday.
The prime minister told reporters at
Chaklala airbase prior to his departure
that the SCO was an extremely important forum and the meeting would
focus on security and economic issues.
He said the SCO countries would hold
discussions on regional infrastructure,
connectivity, energy projects and various other areas of mutual interest.
Gilani will meet the prime ministers of
Russia and China on the sidelines of
the SCO meeting, which will take
place on November 7.
Gilani is attending the summit on the
invitation of Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin.
He said he would be meeting the
Russian premier for the third time and
gas imports and issues related to Pakistan Steel Mills would come under
discussion.
To a question, Gilani said trade was an
important component of regional cooperation. He said Pakistan had already signed a transit trade agreement
with Afghanistan and was looking for
ways to expand commerce with Central Asian states. The focus would remain on bolstering trade with
immediate neighbours of Pakistan, he
added.
Gilani will present Pakistan’s case at
the SCO forum and will seek full membership of the organisation. Pakistan
wants to become a full member of this
forum on account of its immense potential for dealing with common regional challenges.
The SCO, founded in Shanghai in June
2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. Pakistan holds observer
status along with Mongolia, India and
Iran, whereas Sri Lanka and Belarus
have been granted the status of dialogue partners.
The upcoming session is aimed at
highlighting the importance of coordination among the member states on
issues of resolving economic crises
and developing trade and diplomatic
ties along with other observer states
and regional partners.

eVerY GOAT HAS ITS’ DAY: A mountain goat stares at the camera as it awaits a buyer at the cattle market in Quetta. ONLINE

8 feared killed in suicide
attack near Afghan mosque
MAZAR-I-SHARIF

A

AfP

suicide bomber killed up
to eight people as they returned from prayers at a
mosque
in
north
Afghanistan Sunday, the
first day of eidul Adha, officials said.
Most of the dead were civilians and
at least 20 other people were thought
to have been wounded in the attack in
the city of Baghlan at around 9.30am.
The blast came two days after
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar
urged his fighters to avoid civilian casualties in the decade-long Afghan war.
“eight people were killed including
two commanders of Afghan militia
forces. The rest were civilians,” said

Amir Gul, a local government official.
Other officials gave varying death
tolls.
Afghan
Interior
Ministry
spokesman Siddiq Siddiqui in Kabul
put the death toll at seven, with 15
wounded, while Baghlan police chief
Asadullah Shirzad said the figure was
six including one police officer.
Siddiqui said there were two suicide bombers involved, one of whom
detonated himself and caused the casualties, while the other was arrested by
police before he could blow himself up.
The suicide bomber who blew himself up was on foot.
A doctor at the main hospital in
Baghlan said 20 wounded people had
been admitted.
The Taliban were not contactable

to comment on the attack but Siddiqui
said that initial indications suggested
the insurgents were behind the attack.
Previously seen as relatively stable,
Baghlan has seen an uptick in militant
attacks in recent years.
On Friday, the Taliban published a
statement on their website attributed
to Mullah Omar calling on fighters “to
take every step to protect the lives and
wealth of ordinary people”.
The statement, issued to mark
eidul Adha, warned of punishments
under Islamic law for fighters responsible for civilian deaths.
The United Nations says the number of civilians killed in the Afghan war
in the first half of this year rose 15 percent to 1,462, with insurgents behind
80 percent of the deaths.

one woman killed
in raid from
Afghanistan
KHAR
ONlINe

A woman was killed and six others injured when a group of unidentified armed
militants intruded from Afghanistan and
launched an offensive against local residents on Sunday. Sources said a group of
militants crossed the border from
Afghanistan overnight and attacked residents living in Kamangira area tehsil
Nowagai of Bajaur Agency. An eyewitness
reported around 50 Afghan militants
equipped with heavy weapons conducted
the assault but security forces and the
Aman Lashkar cordoned off the area and
began retaliation which killed one militant and injured several others. The exchange of fire lasted several hours
Militants opened fired at people, killing a
woman and injuring six others. The injured were shifted to Agency Headquarters Hospital for medical treatment.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 11

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Editor’s mail 11

remembering 3rd November
While 3rd November should be
remembered as a dark day in the
history of Pakistan, when a military
dictator, abusing his oath of office,
once again chose to flout the
constitution and harm our superior
judiciary, it should also be time for us
to mediate whether the struggle for
justice has borne fruit for unfortunate
citizens of this country.
The judges of Supreme Court have
been seen to enforce rule of law and
accountability, but the lawyers have
failed to come up to the expectations of

the common men and women of this
country. This was definitely not a
struggle by the people to witness few
lawyers mint money by hiking their
legal fees, nor was it waged to facilitate
them in abusing their privilege and
form yet another cartel of sorts. The
silence of the lawyers’ community
leadership on the rape of a lady by a
member of their community in Sialkot
is shameful, repulsive and sickening.
Their resort to illegal use of violence
and intimidation to prevent justice
being done, when one of their own

PML(N) vs PtI
breaks the law, is unacceptable.
Where are all the leaders, men like
Ali Ahmed Kurd, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir
Malik and others, who the people
supported so that rule of law prevails.
This was not a struggle to replace the
tyranny of a dictator with the tyranny of
few black sheep wearing black coats. If
what happened to Dr Shazia Khalid in
Sui at the hands of brute is to be done
by a lawyer in Sialkot, then no change
or relief has been given to the women of
Pakistan, who have suffered for years.
While every criminal has a right to

defence, why should such cases
involving plunder of state assets, or
crimes of rape be taken by those who
made tall claims for delivering justice,
just because the temptation of millions
in fees is too much to resist. It pains us
when we learn that these men, whom
we looked upto as icons, have been
beneficiaries of LPG quotas, just like
the corrupt generals, bureaucrats and
political vultures who were part of
Musharraf team.
ANEELA CHANDIO
Sukkur

where have trillions gone?
As a citizen of Pakistan can I ask
the sitting National Assembly, Senate
and PM of Pakistan where has the Rs
4.6 Trillion of Total Public Debt piled
up since 2008 to Sept 2010 gone along
with US $8.1 Billion in external Debts
between Dec 2008 to Dec 2010. The
collapsed Pakistan Railways, Steel
Mills, PIA, OGDC, NICL, NHA, OGDC,
PASSCO etc and despicable state
health services, education, law and
order, inflation and energy crisis all
point out to gross irregularities,
incompetence and rampant
corruption.
Pakistani rupee devaluation and
galloping inflation is directly related to
rise in external debts, tax pilferages
and deterioration in trade imbalances.
There is no rocket science involved in
analysing what has happened and the
cause for these failures. As long as
there is no transparency and those
involved in financial irregularities are
not prosecuted against, there is no
hope, nor will more loans resolve this
crisis, except buying more time.
It is the government which has
failed if tax is not being collected from
the rich and those who kill citizens are
allowed to get away for the sake of
short term political benefits and
controversial corrupt appointed as
Auditor General.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore

Politicos of our time
“Pakistani Taliban should join
clerics”, said Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Would he, like Pervez Musharraf, on
some suitable day, again abandon them
for the same reason?
Z A KAZMI
Karachi

It seems that Punjab Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif is impressed by Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf’s strategies as Shahbaz
Sharif has now opened his account on
social networking websites. Punjab Chief
Minister has opened his account on
facebook, twitter and bringit.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is a very
much active on social networking
websites and PTI has succeeded in
getting touch with young people of
Pakistan because of this.
The move by Shahbaz Sharif is good
one as in the modern world, these social
media networks allow leaders to remain
in touch with people.
But it has prompted PTI supporters
to call PML (N) the Photocopy Machine
League.
MUBASHIR MAHMOOD
Karachi

Hide snatching
If mobile snatching, car theft,
robberies and target killings were not
enough, there is also the practice of hide
snatching of animals sacrificed during
eid-ul-Azha. It is not a surprise that the
security situation in the metropolis has
deteriorated to such an extent that even
sacrificial animals during religious
festivities are not spared. Although
Karachi police has set up a monitoring
cell for the sole purpose of curtailing
this trend, but one wonders whether to
congratulate them for this initiative or
to criticise them for allowing the
situation to get so much out of hand in
the first place.
HASSAN BASHIR
Islamabad

thrashing of an officer

innocent little children who may be asking them for new
clothes to wear on eid day.
Unfortunately, the elected representatives are not seen
anywhere - when they have not bothered to come and console
them in their hour of trial and tribulation, how can one expect
them to do so on this great religious day of sacrifice. Many
victim families are reported to be starving so what to speak of
celebrations. Let’s behave and act like human beings; let’s do the
work of the deputies of the Lord on earth and make these illfated people celebrate their eid like other Muslims.
HASHIM ABRO
Islamabad

It has been recently reported that
lawyers thrashed two motorway
inspectors at Lahore, as they arrived at
the high court for a case regarding
issuance of fine to a lawyer. This is a
shocking incident, highlighting the
disregard for the rule of law by the ones
who are supposed to uphold it. If our
legal fraternity does not abide the law
and respect the law enforcement
apparatus, then how can we expect any
citizen to do so? Such examples can only
lead to chaos and anarchy. This also
highlights the differences which exist
between the law enforcement institutions
and the legal apparatus.
YASIR HAMEED
Islamabad

responding to the breaking of the
scandal initially, nor was the PBC
bothered to look into the allegations so
as to hold the perpetrators to account
for their ignominious deeds.
The illegal practice of corruption
and cheating in sport, especially cricket
at the domestic, club and international
level, has been ongoing for decades. It
is a consequence of the failure of the
ICC and the respective country boards
to crack down on this menace. The
spirit of the game must be restored and
it can only be done by implementing a
zero tolerance approach towards
corruption.
FATIMA BAREE
Karachi
(Iv)
Spot fixing scandal and
punishment awarded to our three
young cricketers have shaken the
entire cricket world, and this will
certainly put caution on all the
sportsmen to behave like gentleman.
Punishment awarded to our cricketers
have drawn mixed reaction from
cricket lovers, so much so President
Asif Ali Zardari has also taken notice
and ordered investigations and to
extend help to the cricketers.
Who is to be blamed for this
debacle? Frankly speaking, it is the
PCB Board and the officials who
accompanied the team during their
tour to england. Practically these
bunch of officials mostly accompanying
the team are busy in all other activities
except cricket. These youngsters are
susceptible to outsider influence. As a
matter of policy, no player should be
allowed to leave the hotel and meet any
outsider due to the sensitivity of the

game and it must be enforced strictly.
Punishment awarded to cricketers
has been as per British Law after due
process was met. The judge has been
very lenient in view of tender age of
players and has also given an indication
that if the accused showed good
behaviour, their sentence can be
further reduced.
This is a lesson for PCB, the players
and the government to tighten their
loose ends to avoid such disgrace and
embarrassment in future.
MUKHTAR AHMED
Karachi
(v)
Finally, three cricketers of Pakistan
were found guilty of fixing parts of a
Test against england. It has not only
thrown the credibility of international
game into doubts but also highlighted
the negligence of PCB that did not
notice the suspicious activities of
players. everyone is crying that this
shameful act of players has besmirched
the image of the country and demanded
that the accused players should also be
tried in Pakistan.
I think, the guilty must be punished
to avert such situation in the future.
But punishment alone can’t solve the
problem. Remember that corruption is
not the problem of our cricket team
alone: it is the problem of our whole
society and can be eradicated by the
cooperation of the whole society. To
eradicate the corruption from cricket,
we have to depoliticise the PCB, make
adequate legislation and have a zerotolernace attitude towards dishonesty
and corruption.
MUHAMMAD NADEEM
Lahore

eid under open skies
Like Muslims around the globe, the Muslims in Pakistan
will be celebrating eid-ul-Azha on 10th of Zul-Hajj with
traditional religious zeal and fervour. But unfortunately, more
than eight million rain and flood-affected people in twenty one
lower and upper Sindh districts, many of them still marooned,
will not be celebrating their eid with traditional fervour and
solemnity. They will have their “miserable” eid under the
open sky camping on roads and sand dunes.
They will not be visiting their families and friends to
wish them ‘eid Mubarak’ and exchange eid gifts with them.
They have not even a single penny to purchase anything to
cook on this auspicious day and meet the demands of their

our cricketing shame: the PCB’s fault too
The damage inflicted on Pakistan
by the shameful acts of three cricketers
is more than what could have been
done by all the negative propaganda by
our enemies. It would be grossly unfair
to blame these players alone, for all this
could have been prevented if timely
remedial measures had been taken by
the PCB, its politicised governing body
and the patron who appoints all of
them. The officials who accompanied
them and the controversies that stick to
most of them, are responsible for
throwing these young men, two of
whom came from very humble
backgrounds into the lion’s den.
This was waiting to happen and was
bound to happen given the tolerance
and patronisation that the political
establishment of Pakistan has for those
whose greed knows no limit. The
cricket mafia that is responsible for
infiltrating and controlling PCB for
more than 15 years are all responsible
for what has happened. This young
talented fast bowler Amir was tempted
by the examples of senior players
accused of match fixing and yet
managed to get away. The millions that
they made and their opulent lifestyle
were too much of a temptation for this
novice to resist.
Had the State of Pakistan and its
powerful establishment allowed
accountability process to gain a
foothold in this country, this could
have been prevented. Musharraf and
Zardari in their role as all-powerful
patrons are guilty for not enforcing
discipline and punishments for those
found involved in irregularities by
failing to appoint men of integrity on
merit to head PCB. This was waiting to

happen and those in power, including
the military dictator, are guilty of
bringing shame to this country.
GULL ZAMAN
Peshawar
(II)
When cricket becomes slave to
politics and the undisciplined manage
to get away because there is no
accountability, than what has befallen
our cricketers was bound to occur. It is
PCB and their legal experts who are
responsible for the shame and
embarrassment that Pakistan had to
endure, because either political
interference, or incompetence of the
board had prevented action against
these players, when initial reports
about irregularities surfaced.
There were numerous officials
accompanying these players, whose job
it was to protect these young players
from being lured by bookies. The
cricket betting mafia is huge with
annual stakes of over $30 Billion and
India is the capital of betting mafia.
Recently another player who was not
cleared on issues of integrity has
managed to stage a comeback because
he was recommended by a minister of
ruling party hailing from Sialkot. Can
anybody imagine the fallout if this
player ever gets caught red handed,
since his meeting with the Patron was
publicised?
What about the former selector
against whom a player had given a
signed complaint of demanding bribes
for selection and yet managed to
accompany the team as an official,
when this incident occurred. Such
allegations have in the past been made
against other senior executives of PCB,

who were accused of betting during
their tenures in PCB. The PCB’s lack of
will and determination to enforce
discipline has brought disgrace to
Pakistan and those responsible are as
much guilty as these players.
IRFAN BUTT
Karachi
(III)
This week marked the end of a dark
chapter in the history of Pakistan
cricket that began with a scandalous
exposé of three Pakistani cricketers
involved in spot-fixing in their tour of
england at Lord’s last year. The guilty
verdict criminally convicting Pakistan’s
ex-captain Salman Butt, 27, and
Muhammad Asif, 28, was saluted by
many all over the world and is seen as a
positive move in the right direction
towards ridding the sport of
corruption.
Cricket was once the epitome of
‘gentleman-like behaviour’. However,
this image of cricket has been tarnished
over the years. The massive sums of
money that it now brings in via
ticketing, satellite television rights and
competition, sponsorships from a range
of companies, etc, has led to insatiable
greed amongst some players. Also, its
increased popularity has contributed to
its evolution in terms of the
introduction of different formats as
opposed to the traditional test matches.
An anti-corruption and security
unit set up by the ICC to monitor
deviant behaviour has time and again
proved a failure in exposing all those
allegedly implicated in jeopardising the
integrity of the sport. Needless to say,
the role of the PCB in this regard was
neither sufficient in adequately

s he being a little too confident, the prime
minister, when he says no force can unseat
democracy? After all, isn’t he the captain of an
unsteady boat in some rather turbulent seas? Isn’t
he heading a government replete with charges of
corruption and incompetence? Be that as it may,
however, recent history has proved that he just may
have reason to be sure of his position. Lest candid
posterity forget, talk of his government being
overthrown has been doing the rounds almost since it
started its term in office. That too despite this
government having a shorter honeymoon period
compared to others owing to the fallout with the
PML(N) over the issue of the restoration of the then
deposed senior judiciary.
The now widely acknowledged agility with which the
president has navigated his party has ensured that his
government has gotten more powerful, if not necessarily
more popular, in the scheme of things. Were the media,
and within it, the commentariat, subject to any of the
accountability that the corporate sector, the bureaucracy
or governments themselves are subject to, many hacks
would have lost their jobs for getting it wrong over and
over again. In the republic, however, the fat cats, as
opposed to the feet-on-the-ground reporters, keep
getting fatter.
The premier’s statements were, of course, in
connection with the recent successful anti-government
rallies by the PML(N) and Imran Khan’s PTI. Since the
latter was more of a show of force against the former, he
wasn’t as bothered as a man whose government was the
brunt of two major rallies would presumably be. The
business of political demographics and psephology is
dicey, granted, in Pakistan but the number crunchers
and analysts all seem to be suggesting that any possible
PTI gains in the future will be at the PML(N)’s expense.
To further cement a walling in of the League, the PPP is
finally engaging in a policy that many party watchers say
was long overdue: establish separate secretariats for
north and south Punjab.
Interesting times, these. The heating up of the
political arena is bound to lead to a more forceful
wooing of the electorate. This is bound to yield better
attempts, by all parties, to engage the disenfranchised.
That all can’t be a bad thing.

Leagues within the League
As if it weren’t besieged enough already

T

he distancing of leaders in the PML(N) from
Shahbaz Sharif’s recent anti-government
diatribe is indicative of their being a difference
of opinion within the party. This was bound to
happen. If it does, indeed, lead to an impasse (unlikely
as that might be) it would actually be the end of an arc
that started since the ‘99 coup itself.
A lesson in democracy, the coup was for Nawaz
Sharif. To be fair, even though the boy-king derived his
initial power from the establishment, his two tenures
had already shown signs of his becoming his own man.
The coup merely reinforced that bent of mind. He
returned a leader better educated and trained in the
theory and practice of democratic statesmanship. His
younger brother, though, seems not to have changed
much in certain areas. Though the League became a
populist juggernaut, especially in the second phase of
the lawyers’ movement, Nawaz Sharif made it a point
not to cross boundaries that would imply a disrespect
towards the democratic scheme of things. He also
became more critical of the military than the traditional
anti-establishment parties, now in government, have
managed to be. Shahbaz Sharif, on the other hand, is
rumoured not to share those views.
The recent Lahore rally, where the Punjab premier
started a ‘Go Zardari Go’ routine is now being put
through an image management machine. He only meant
to rally against rising corruption, not to eject the
president out of office, we are told. This would,
presumably, be under orders from the party high
command. Casual investigations reveal that though
Nawaz Sharif might be more popular with the rank-andfile of the party, their ideological framework resembles
his brother’s. An elaborate good cop/ bad cop? Maybe.
either way, it is a pickle that threatens the future of the
party unless dealt with properly.

iolence begets violence is the
lesson one can learn from the
life and death of the Libyan
leader Muammar Qaddafi,
who grabbed power through
a violent act and was kicked out of power
by violent protestors that ultimately assassinated him in a brutal manner. For
over four decades, he ruled as a romantic
revolutionary, who thought he could fashion the world according to his whims and
fantasies. Like a true romantic, he was a
man of many dreams, who was quite passionate about them. He was the leader of
a small country yet he chose the whole
world as the theatre of performance.
From Africa to europe, he supported
all brands of revolutionary liberation
movements such as the Front of National
Liberation in eriteria and Irish nationalists struggling against Britain in Northern
Ireland. At the same time, he was equally
critical of the capitalistic
American neo-imperialism
and the atheistic Russian
By Basharat Hussain Qizilbash communism. His most
cherished dream, however,
was pan-Arabism as he
wanted to forge on a common political platform a
United States of Arabs to
confront the challenges
posed by the West as well as
the communist bloc but he
lacked the vision, means and
stature to overcome the centuries old Arab prejudices,
parochialism and tribalism.
One may disagree with
his approach but one can
never question the sincerity
of his purpose in uniting the
Arab states into a political
unity. In 1969, he persuaded
egyptian President Gamal
Nasser and Sudanese President Jafar Numeiri to
launch the Revolutionary
Arab Front. Undeterred by
Nasser’s sudden demise, he
prevailed upon the new
egyptian President Anwar
Sadat and Syrian President
Hafez Assad to form the
Federation of Arab Republic
in 1971. Frustrated by
Sadat’s lacklustre attitude,
he proposed to President

eye on History

Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia that their
states should merge into an Arab Islamic Republic in 1974. His selflessness
to the pan-Arab cause was unique in the
sense that he had been the only leader,
who publicly declared that he would
step down as the head of the Libyan
state in favour of Sadat to realise the
dream of the federation with egypt.
One wonders when he was so enthusiastic in pursuing his ideals, then why
did he fail in all of his enterprises. I think
the most important factor that caused his
failures was his maverick bent of mind
which did not permit him to be consistent
in his words and deeds. Consequently,
even if he had the noblest of intentions;
he could not be taken seriously by others.
His whole life is replete with erratic behaviour. For example, he announced that
Libya would quit the Arab League if
egyptian President Mobarak were invited
to its 1989 session. Later, to the utter
amazement of everybody, he not only accepted Mobarak but was the first person
to embrace and kiss him.
Such a maverick attitude irritated
many and caused more ill-will than goodwill. The August 1990 Arab League summit convened to find a solution of Iraq’s
attack on Kuwait is another case in point.
Qaddafi suspected that the resolution that
was to be passed was actually prepared in
Washington and then translated in Arabic. Fair enough! But the way he communicated his displeasure was annoying to
the Sheikhdoms. First, he confronted
Sheikh Zayed, the ruler of UAe: “Why are
you hiding behind the Americans?
Wouldn’t it have been easier to get the Israelis to protect you? They are nearer.”
Then, in a sheer display of bravado, he
bellowed to a group of other Gulf foreign
ministers that included Sheikh Saad of
Kuwait: “Why don’t you ask the Israelis to
come and defend you?” He was probably
the only Arab leader, who personally led
a demonstration of about half a million
people in Tripoli in support of Iraq and
against the US military intervention.
This maverick personality trait
made him a man of many contradictions. The same Iraq with whom he was
expressing solidarity in 1990 was castigated by him in 1972 for signing a treaty
of friendship with socialist Russia. He
argued that Iraq had broken the ranks
of Arab solidarity and so recalled his
ambassador from Baghdad but three
years later had himself signed a $1 billion arms deal with Moscow.
even Moscow found it quite difficult
to forge a stable relationship with such a

maverick mind. He was an Islamist at
heart and enforced strict Islamic regulations in the early 1970’s by banning alcohol, closing bars, cabarets and other
places of entertainment as he firmly believed that one day the world would reject capitalism and communism and
would ultimately embrace Islam.
Ironically, he was not consistent
even in his opposition to communism.
First, in 1971, after the communists had
brought a successful coup against President Jafer Numeiri of Sudan, Babakr elNur boarded a BOAC flight from London
to Khartoum to take over as the new
President, had his flight forcibly brought
down in Libya on the orders of Qaddafi,
was put in jail and subsequently handed
over to the Sudanese authorities. However, the very next year, the maverick
Libyan leader supported the Marxist
South Yemen government in its civil war
against North Yemen.
These eccentricities had completely
estranged him from his Arab brothers,
the imperialist West and the Russian
communists. If any country that was
strong enough to save him in his last
confrontation against the US-led NATO
forces, it was Russia. A few days ago, the
incumbent Russian foreign minister
Sergei Lavrov clearly warned the world
that his country would not allow a
Libya-style military intervention against
Syria, however, no such warning was issued by the Russians in defence of
Qaddafi. Why? Just because Russians
had not forgotten Qaddafi’s tirades
against them. The Soviet President
Brezhnev, while communicating his displeasure at Qaddafi had enquired from
Sadat in a meeting: “We don’t know
him; we have never met him; we have
nothing against him or against Libya.
So, I don’t know why he is attacking us,
and communism and Soviet Union.”
Sometimes the wounds caused by
words can be more cutting than a sword.
The Russian prestige was definitely
wounded. The annoyed Brezhnev reminded Sadat, “We judge people by what
they say. Why is Qaddafi attacking us?
We aren’t attacking him... Obviously
what Qaddafi says can’t harm the Soviet
Union, and the time will come when he
will repent of everything he had said
against the Soviet Union.” Qaddafi
should have marked his words but he
didn’t and thus, met an ignominious end.
The writer is an academic and
journalist. He can be reached at
qizilbash2000@yahoo.com

nd here I am thinking,
can PTI clean sweep
the next elections? Do
they even have candidates in
Sindh, Balochistan or Southern Punjab for that matter? Is
it going to remain the party of
unsullied eggs if the likes of
Shah Mehmood Qureshi and
Mushahid Hussain join it?
And let’s not forget, even if
they don’t make an alliance
with any party at the moment,
won’t they inevitably have to
after the elections? Then, who
will it be with? Cracking the
shell in two, if PTI just ends
up placing a pixie dent in
PML(N)’s electorate bum,
who will benefit from that?
Should PPP support PTI for

future dharnas in Punjab?
even if rumour has it, I will
have the facts on the rocks: the
establishment always assures
that there are no hurdles when
they support someone in a
vested cause. Keeping in mind
that it’s Shahbaz Sharif’s government in Punjab, Imran
Khan’s impeccably smooth
jalsa in Lahore is an unmistakable indication of the above;
his peaceful protest against
drones in Peshawar is the
other. Also, Mian Nawaz’s perpetual grudge against the army
was evident in the APC when
he addressed General Kayani
by saying where there’s smoke
there’s fire. That can be taken
as acknowledging the US point
of view to some extent and the
beef in the establishment’s
‘kosher’ menu card. With
Sharif’s guns trained on them,
maybe the powers that be are
looking for other props?
Moving on, Imran Khan is
very determined about keeping
a check on the assets of the current political figures. But
shouldn’t these good intentions
begin at home? A well-known
political analyst from PTI said
that Imran’s annual income
culminates to 2 crores from

which he donates around 1
crore to Shaukat Khanum and
other non-profit institutions.
But one can’t but have conjectures about where the dough is
coming from for all his campaigning. The lighting at
Minar-i-Pakistan that day was
very well. And then there was
the new campaign style introduced by IK - inviting singers
to jalsas and covering their
boarding and lodging. There
were also the caravan of
floaters (publicity vans) that
roamed around the city with
Imran’s posters. These ring a
bell in one’s mind about the finances. Given Imran’s insistence that party members
aren’t rich enough, one has to
ask: where is the money coming from?
Imran Khan also announced his visit to China during his jalsa to which he went
and quietly ironically (I must
consider it situational irony) he
came back on a private plane
which seemed to be arranged
by state authorities. In what capacity did he go there? A couple of days prior to the
eye-opening and white-washing jalsa, China seemingly put
Pakistan in a critical position

(Though not embarrassing) by
asking for establishing military
bases in FATA, definitely to
counter the rising danger of extremism in Xinxiang. Imran,
perhaps would have to take a
contradictory position if he
agreed to the “demands” put
forward by China. Imran would
be supporting the Taliban for
their cause in Afghanistan and
simultaneously would be discouraging Muslim separatists
in Xinxiang. If he goes to Saudi
Arabia or the Middle east after
this, won’t it be more conclusive that he is playing in the
hands of the establishment?
I was terribly disappointed
with some analysts as they predicted Imran denting both
right- and left-wing vote banks
by offering prayers on stage
and then letting the musicians
play music before his speech. Is
playing music all that is required to prove your ‘liberal’
‘leftist’ credentials? These
things once meant entirely
something else. That it has
come down to this tells us a lot.
The writer is a member of
the band Beygairat Brigade
that has recently released the
single Aaloo Anday.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 13

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Never another Amir

Our cricketing heartbreak

By Waqqas Mir

I

t is hard to describe to anyone
outside the subcontinent how
much we love our cricket. We
worship the game but that is not
all. We worship for the game. We
go to our temples and our mosques
beseeching God to help our team
win. Win or lose, God and this religion of cricket stay intact. But as
so often happens, religion and
tragedy share a deep bond.
As our car pulled into the parking lot of an eatery on the Motorway that balmy evening in 2004
the noise from afar would have
made you think that a political rally
was about to start. The occasion:
Pakistan v India at the eden Gardens. India had piled up a sizeable
total and Pakistan’s chase had just
begun. I had to stand on tiptoes to
see the small screen in the KFC
where I could see a left hander
creaming Zaheer Khan repeatedly
through the covers. When Zaheer
pitched up, this young man put his
foot forward and drove, when Khan
pitched short the bat slashed horizontally. He moved with ease and
his bat flowed like an uninhibited
painter’s brush strokes. “Who is
he?” I asked a friend. He shrugged.
“New guy. Salman something.”
Two hours later, Salman Butt became a hero to a nation that maybe
has only one common undisputed
love: its cricket team. Butt scored a
century, we beat India. A new
cricketing star had arrived — we
were sure of it.
Fast forward to Karachi in
2006 and that is when I first
watched a lanky fast bowler named
Muhammad Asif. He sent Sehwag,
Laxman and Tendulkar’s stumps
cartwheeling on a breezy Karachi
afternoon as a stadium and countless homes erupted in euphoria.
We beat India 1-0 in the Test series
and all was well in the world.
Another memory: it’s a friend’s
wedding party but all the guests
present keep asking, ‘Score kya
hua?’ A child runs through the

crowd screaming the sweetest
words a Pakistani can hear when
we play India: “Tendulkar out ho
gaya!” High fives all around! “Who
got him?” asks one cheerful voice.
“Muhammad Amir!” shouted another. An 18 year old dismisses the
greatest batsman playing the game;
commentators mention how the
young man will remember that moment for a long time. An established genius had just fallen to a
raw but spellbinding talent.
Over the next few months, the
world saw Amir establishing himself as by far the most exciting
young fast bowler to have arrived
in the past decade. There was
something of a Lionel Messi about
him. His talent at swinging the
ball was almost unfairly breathtaking. He was the sort of
sparkling young talent that forced
commentators to confront the inadequacies of language. He was
Pakistan’s favorite 18-year old. He
was our ticket to glory: a nation’s
redemption at its favorite sport.
August, 2010: And then we
wake up to that ignominious
morning where papers screamed
headlines we did not want to believe. This was a tragedy and denial, our second most popular
sport, would not get us anywhere.
Our players’ actions brought
shame to themselves while disgracing our country and a sport we
worship. Michael Holding’s tears
on live television for Muhammad
Amir summed it up. This story can
be told in many different ways but
it will always have this heartwrenching end where corruption
and human frailty won over
greater, perhaps nobler, passions.
Sportsmen are geniuses. They
absorb pressures most of us can
never imagine. In tense situations,
with screaming crowds or with
lips muttering prayers we trust
only thing: their judgment about
their own talent. But they are
human and prone to temptation
and the most egregious mistakes.
Cricketers better than most
people should know the value of a
bad judgment. And three of our heroes got their judgments desperately wrong. They made a choice —
an awfully bad one — but in the ensuing tragedy there are countless
victims. The actions of three players
are worthy of condemnation but
disgraceful conduct does not make
human frailty any less of a tragedy.
Cricket must protect its own. The

ICC has for a long time been an idle
bystander as corruption scandals
have been revealed through different sources. Instead of waiting
for leaks, the ICC must ensure
that all countries must counter
ways in which money threatens
the sport. Money is neutral some
might say, but it isn’t always so. If
you allow money’s influence, you
have to guard against it too.
equally culpable is the PCB
which has been criminally negligent in its disciplinary management. It is almost impossible to
fathom that the PCB was unaware
of a culture of players acting
through their agents in a nontransparent manner. Stricter regulation of agent-player relations
must follow along with who the
agents deal with. All agents must
endure thorough background
checks and on-going disclosure requirements of their actions/contracts that directly or indirectly
affect a player’s earnings. Compliance audits with international best
practices are another necessity.
This need not be draconian.
The PCB just has to come up with
an effective and transparency facilitating corporate governance
mechanism and the goals can be
achieved. What is most important
is the will to implement. With a
new and widely respected Chairman in place, one hopes that
cricket will be served with the passion with which it is followed. PCB
must also take steps to try and insulate the families of the players
from media harassment.
In early 2011, as I was leaving
a restaurant in Sri Lanka an old
gentleman stopped me to ask
where I was from. When I said
Pakistan, he grabbed me by the
arm and leaned closer. I saw his
eyes well up with tears as he said,
“I am 75 years old. And I am so
sorry about Muhammad Amir that
it breaks my heart.” He nearly lost
his voice before saying, ‘there may
never be another like him’. Today,
as I look back at the tragedy that
the cricketing world will remember as Muhammad Amir, I have a
different prayer: May there never
be another Muhammad Amir.
The writer is a Barrister and
an Advocate of the High Courts.
He has a special interest in
Antitrust law and is currently
pursuing an LLM at a law school
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Comment 13

Speechless in Wonderland
Nonsense: an exercise in intelligence

T

o test their level of english reading
and comprehension, ten girls were
asked to read an extract from ‘Alice
in Wonderland’, taken from a Grade Four
english textbook.
These girls were ‘Inter pass,’ and not
from homes where english is normally spoken. One and all mispronounced the name
‘Alice’, which was expected. What really
stumped them though was the concept of a
girl jumping down a rabbit hole after a
white rabbit that could speak. Alice rendered them speechless.
It is hard to understand why. We’re exposed to a great deal of nonsense in desi
magazines starting from their lurid covers
to the sentimental tosh within. Television, a
major source of entertainment for the public, is also replete with nonsense, not much
of which is intelligent. Intelligent nonsense
would be programmes such as Hasb-e-Haal
with the talented Sohail Ahmed, but sans
the cackling hostess on the side, please.
What could be bigger nonsense for example, than the drama serial ‘Uttaran’ on a
private television channel that claims to
offer ‘pure entertainment’? An Indian soap,
Uttaran incredibly shot up to the top twenty
in India and is extremely popular here.
If viewers can stomach men and
women behaving the way they do in this
series, why do they find the
white rabbit, the Mad Hatter
By Rabia Ahmed
or the hookah smoking
Caterpillar so unsettling?
The tears, the obsessive
focus on marriage, the excessive makeup and jewelry,
the soppy idiom, the dreadful, dreadful music …why
did Alice resonate like such
an unidentifiably frightful
object to girls reared on the
doings of the likes of Ichcha
and Tapasya?
Pakistani plays, although
better, still have much the
same focus: marriage, unreasonable filial obedience, marriage, tears, marriage…and
have I mentioned marriage?
Flipping through the
channels on television, you
see programmes about space
flights, or animal habitats, or
people who invented something mad but brilliant,
sports programmes or a
funny sitcom or two. Interspersed with these are the Indian and Pakistan shows
predominantly
featuring
groups of curiously dressed
persons performing synchronous stomping contortions;
strongly reminiscent of the
PT once popular in schools.

Of course there are other desi channels,
talk shows where everyone talks/shouts in
synch or other shows compered by women
with sunflowers tucked behind their ears.
In recent days Lahore witnessed further
deaths as a result of dengue, a whole family
was shot dead by a brother frustrated at
being unemployed, and another man set
himself on fire for the same reason.
The Chief Minister of the Punjab and
his brother have been taking swipes at
the President of the country, and a man
died after queuing all night at the bank to
receive his pension from Pakistan Railways. The President of Pakistan ‘noticed’
this occurrence, and ordered an enquiry
into the matter, another expensive exercise which will obediently not produce
any useful conclusions.
The BBC claimed that Pakistan’s Intelligence Service is training and protecting Taliban in this country.
Meantime, Maulana edhi in a completely senior moment declared that General Kayani should take over at the helm
of government for six months in a bid to
control poverty and corruption, and the
long suffering Nusrat Bhutto heaved a
sigh of relief and turned up her toes. To
its bewilderment, the entire country was
asked to close shop for the day as a result.
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia
died, and another stepped into his expensive shoes, and in Turkey hundreds of
people died in an earthquake.
Qaddafi the leader of Libya for more
than forty years was dragged through the
streets and killed, and people fled the
capital of Bangkok as the city became inundated with flood waters.
Shouting “We are the 99%” protestors
demonstrated in New York City’s Zuccotti
Park against unfair distribution of wealth
and financial greed within capitalist societies. ‘Occupy Wall Street’ quickly became the prototype for other ‘Occupy’
protests, including ‘Occupy Bilawal
House’ (okay, okay, I’m kidding, but it
may well come true).
All this while, on television in Pakistan, people continue dancing, shouting,
and wearing sunflowers, while fluorescent women continue to grace the covers
of various magazines and digests. As
Alice said, “it would be so nice if something would make sense for a change.’
We could do without with much of this
entertainment, only some of it interesting,
very little of it intelligent. We need the kind
of nonsense that makes people smile.
True nonsense is a valuable exercise
in lateral thinking that teases the brain
into questioning one’s surroundings and
arriving at conclusions that would not
occur in the routine and mundane.
“I like nonsense,” said Dr. Seuss. “It
wakes up the brain cells.”

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:26 AM Page 14

14 Foreign News

Monday, 7 November, 2011

thai floods
death toll rises
above 500
BANGKOK
AfP

The death toll from Thailand’s worst floods in
decades jumped above 500 on Sunday as the
seemingly unstoppable waters crept deeper
into Bangkok, swamping main roads and
threatening the city centre. The government
said the disaster has now killed 506 people
nationwide - an increase of 60 from the figure
reported a day earlier. So far no deaths in
Bangkok have been reported in the official
toll. At least 20 percent of the capital is
already submerged in floodwater
contaminated by rubbish, dead animals and
industrial waste, raising fears about
outbreaks of disease in the densely populated
metropolis of 12 million people. The slowmoving water is now just a few kilometres
(miles) away from business and tourist
districts, and authorities are desperately
seeking to push the floods through waterways
in the east and west of the city and out to sea.
In Bangkok, more than a million people have
been told to evacuate 10 districts out of a total
of 50 in the capital, and a partial evacuation
order has been issued in five others. But
many have chosen to stay in their homes
despite risks including electrocution, disease
and lack of food and drinking water,
complicating relief efforts. Thai authorities
failed to save a number of major industrial
parks from the floods, despite earlier
assurances they would be protected. The
crisis is taking its toll on the lucrative Thai
tourism industry, with countries including
the United States, Britain, Singapore, Canada
and the Netherlands advising against all but
essential travel to Bangkok.

4 killed as Syrians
rally on eid
DAMASCUS
AfP

Security forces killed four civilians as antiregime demonstrations were staged across
Syria on Sunday, the first day of the Muslim
feast marking the end of the Haj, a human
rights group said. Three of the civilians were
killed in Homs, the flashpoint central city
where protests against the rule of President
Bashar al-Assad were held in most districts
despite a weeks-long military crackdown. In
Homs, “a civilian was killed by security
forces gunfire in Bab Dreibi district,
another died in shelling in Baba Amro...
and a third was killed by snipers,” the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
in a statement received in Nicosia.
Security forces also shot dead another
civilian in the city of Hama, which lies
further to the north. And in Talbi, a town
near Homs, “four protesters were
wounded, one seriously, when the security
forces fired on a demonstration,” said the
Britain-based Observatory.The latest
reported crackdown on protests came as
Syrian state radio reported President
Assad attended Al-Nur mosque in the
northern town of Raqqa for prayers on
Sunday morning to mark eidul Azha.

AYUTTHAYA: A resident in a boat travels through floodwaters near a statue of buddha at a temple, on Sunday. ReuteRS
JERUSALEM

I

AfP

SRAeLI President Shimon Peres
warned late on Saturday that an
attack on Iran was “more and
more likely,” days before a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Iran’s nuclear programme.
He told Israel’s privately owned
Channel Two television: “The intelligence services of the different countries
that are keeping an eye on (Iran) are
worried and putting pressure on their
leaders to warn that Iran is ready to obtain the nuclear weapon.
“We must turn to these countries to
ensure that they keep their commitments... this must be done, and there is
a long list of options,” Peres added.
In recent days, speculation in Israel
has grown about the possibility of a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear
facilities. On Wednesday, it was reported that Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Defence Minister ehud
Barak were seeking cabinet support for
an attack. The military last week carried
out what Israeli media called a “ballistic
missile” test, as well as a large-scale
civil defence drill simulating the response to conventional and non-conventional missile attacks.
Officials said both events were longplanned and unrelated to the specula-

Attack on Iran ‘more
and more likely’: Israel
g

Conclusive UN Iran nuke report expected later this week

tion about military action, but both
helped drive talk here about whether Israel is ramping up plans for an attack.
On Sunday, it was reported that US
officials had failed to secure a commitment from Israel that it would coordinate any plans to attack Iran with
Washington. Citing unnamed US officials, Haaretz said US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta had used a recent
visit to Israel to make clear Washington
did not want to be surprised by any Israeli attack, but received only a vague
response from Netanyahu and Barak.
Still, media reports suggested no
final decision on a strike has been taken
and that a report by the International
Atomic energy Agency (IAeA) nuclear
watchdog on November 8 would have a
“decisive effect” on decision-making.
Previous IAeA assessments have
centred on Iran’s efforts to produce fissile material - uranium and plutonium

- that can be used for power generation
and other peaceful uses, but also for the
core of a nuclear warhead.
However the new update, which
diplomats say will be circulated among
envoys on Tuesday or Wednesday, will
focus on Iran’s alleged efforts to put the
fissile material in a warhead and develop missiles to carry them to a target.
Israeli defence analysts have described the Iranian programme as
“alarming,” and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said the report
would prove “beyond doubt” its military
aims. He said he hoped Iran would be
targeted by a new package of international sanctions.
On Monday, Barak was forced to
deny media reports that he and Netanyahu had already decided to launch
an attack against Iran over the opposition of military and intelligence chiefs.
But he said “situations could arise

in the Middle east under which Israel
must defend its vital interests independently, without having to rely on regional or other forces.”
Haaretz said a majority of the 15
members of Israel’s security cabinet
were still against an attack on Iran.
Only that body can take such a momentous decision. A poll published by
Haaretz on Thursday found Israeli public opinion divided on a strike against
Iran’s nuclear facilities, with 41 percent
in favour, 39 percent opposed and 20
percent undecided.
Israel has consistently warned all
options remain on the table when it
comes to Iran’s nuclear programme,
which the Jewish state and Western
governments fear masks a drive for nuclear weapons. Iran denies any such
ambition and insists its nuclear programme is for power generation and
medical purposes only.

Last mountain priest dies in India’s Sikkim
NEW DELHI
AfP

An ancient ritual of worshipping
Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest
mountain, has ended with the death of
the last Lepcha priest in remote northeast
India, reports said Sunday.
“The tradition... has ended forever. It
is not possible for another person to learn
the rituals and take Samdup Taso’s
place,” local resident Sherap Lepcha told
the The Times Of India.
The indigenous Lepcha people of
Sikkim have worshipped the Himalayan
peak for hundreds of years in an annual
ceremony led by direct descendants of
the original “bongthing” or priest. But the
death of Samdup Taso, 83, has left the
Lepchas without a priest to continue
prayers for the mountain, which is

SIKKIM: A view of mount Kanchenjunga taken from Kaluk Bazaar.
On Sunday, an ancient ritual of worshipping Kanchenjunga ended
with the death of the last Lepcha priest. AFp

revered as Sikkim’s guardian deity, the
paper reported. Taso had one son who
has not become a priest, the newspaper
reported, adding that Taso died in his na-

tive Nung village in the Dzongu region of
north Sikkim on October 31 without
anointing a successor.
The Lepchas are seen as the original

inhabitants of Sikkim, a tiny former kingdom nestled between Nepal, Tibet and
Bhutan that only became part of India in
1975. “Taso, believed to be a descendant
of the first ‘bongthing’, used to lead (the)
elaborate rituals that would commence
with overnight prayers at his residence,”
the Times reported.
Details of the Lepcha creation myth
vary, but the Calcutta Telegraph in its report on Taso’s death said locals believed
that the first Lepcha couple had been
made from fresh snows at Kanchenjunga’s summit. The British climbers who
conquered Kanchenjunga in 1955
stopped just short of the peak out of respect for the Sikkimese belief that the
spot is sacred, and other expeditions have
since followed suit.
The mountain, measuring 28,169
feet, straddles Sikkim’s western border

with Nepal, and tourists from around the
world travel to the region to admire its
distant peaks from viewpoints and hotel
balconies.
Sikkim was controlled by “chogkals”
(kings) until 1975, when India intervened
after an uprising against the monarchy by
the majority-Nepali population who migrated into the region in the 19th century.
The Times reported that about
55,000 Lepcha people remain in Sikkim,
800 years after they settled near the base
of Kanchenjunga. It said many Lepchas
had turned from nature-worship to Buddhism or Christianity, and that ceremonies devoted to Kanchenjunga had
become rare in recent decades.
Reports said that Taso died after mild
earthquake tremors shook the region.
Sikkim was hit by a severe quake in September that killed at least 100 people.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:27 AM Page 15

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Foreign News 15

Prince Salman
named Saudi
defence minister

greek leaders
launch bid to break
political deadlock
ATHENS

RIYADH
AfP

AfP

King Abdullah late on Saturday named his
half-brother Prince Salman, who is
governor of Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia’s
defence minister to succeed the late Crown
Prince Sultan, state television Al-ekhbariya
said. Although Prince Salman served as
governor for more than half a century, he
has not previously held a ministerial post.
Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz was
appointed Riyadh’s governor in Prince
Salman’s place, the report said, citing a
series of royal decrees, under which Prince
Khaled bin Sultan, the late crown prince’s
son, was named deputy defence minister.
The appointment of Prince Salman comes
as Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil
exporter, is holding negotiations with the
United States on the final details of a 60billion-dollar arms deal.

Greek leaders were poised Sunday for a fresh
round of talks to break the political deadlock
over efforts to form a unity government and
keep crisis-ravaged Greece in the eurozone.
Amid dire warnings that Athens is fast
running out of time to implement a crucial
eU bailout plan designed to save Greece from
bankruptcy, Prime Minister George
Papandreou has offered to step down in
favour of a coalition government. But Antonis
Samaras, leader of the main conservative
opposition party, has snubbed the proposal,
calling instead for “immediate” elections.
Papandreou in turn has dismissed the idea of
early polls as a “catastrophe” and said the
bickering was giving the rest of europe the
impression that Greece did not want to stay
in the 17-nation eurozone. “The application of
this deal is the precondition for us staying in
the euro. It’s as important as that,” he told
reporters on Saturday after visiting President
Carolos Papoulias. Papandreou was referring
to a rescue package thrashed out in late
October after tortuous negotiations in
Brussels that would see banks write off half
their holdings of Greek debt and offer
massive loans to keep the country afloat. The
cabinet meeting was due to prepare a
meeting of eurozone finance ministers on
Monday that would debate an eight-billioneuro ($11-billion) slice of bailout cash that
Finance Minister evangelos Venizelos says is
needed by December 15.

Colombian
rebels promise to
continue fight
BOGOTA
AfP

Colombian leftist rebels promised late
Saturday to continue their struggle, despite
the death of their Marxist leader Alfonso
Cano. “Peace in Colombia will not come as a
result of a demobilization of the rebel force,
but as a result of eradication of the causes
that had led to the rebellion,” the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) said in a statement.
Cano, who had led the group since 2008, was
gunned down in a firefight late Friday during
a day-long operation in which his female
companion also died, government and local
officials said. The operation taking out Cano
was the latest in a string of recent military
victories in the government’s quest to
eradicate Latin America’s longest-running
leftist insurgency, after years of unsuccessful
attempts to find a negotiated solution.
Speaking after Cano’s death, Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos urged the
rebels to surrender their arms and start talks
with the government. But the FARC
statement said the group “has charted a
policy, and that policy will continue.” The
FARC acknowledged Cano’s death, but
promised that he will be replaced by people
“with courage and absolute conviction in the
final victory.” The FARC, believed to have
8,000 members, has been at war with the
government since its launch in 1964. It
began a campaign of kidnappings in the mid1980s, seizing army hostages to serve as
bargaining chips for FARC prisoners. By the
late 1990s, civilians and political leaders
were also being snatched, winning the group
greater notoriety. But the group has suffered
some serious losses since 2008, when its
number two Raul Reyes died during a
Colombian army raid in ecuadoran territory.
That same year, the FARC also lost Manuel
“Sure Shot” Marulanda Velez, the reclusive
80-year-old rebel chief, who was last seen in
1982. He died after a brief illness.

KAbUl: Afghan men greet each other outside the Shahe do Shamshera mosque, as Muslims around the world celebrate eidul
Azda to mark the end of the Haj pilgrimage by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows. REUTERS

150 die in Islamist
attacks in Nigeria
DAMATURU

A

AfP

T least 150 people
died in a “heinous”
wave of gun and bomb
attacks in northern
Nigeria that were on
Saturday claimed by the Islamist
Boko Haram sect.
President Goodluck Jonathan
condemned the assaults which officials said included at least five suicide bomb blasts and “directed
security agencies to ensure the arrest
of perpetrators of these heinous
acts,” said a statement from his
spokesman Reuben Abati.
As corpses piled up in the
morgue, a rescue agency official said
the body count stood at 150.
“I was involved in the evacuation
of corpses to the morgue. I personally counted 150 bodies,” the official,

speaking on condition of anonymity,
said at the hospital. He said some
families had already collected their
loved ones for burial, reducing the
number to 97 by end of the day.
The Red Cross earlier said the
death toll stood at 63, while police
spoke of 53, of whom 11 were members of its force.
The 15-nation UN Security Council released a statement saying it
“condemned in the strongest terms”
the attacks in Nigeria. The council
expressed condolences to the families. A member of Nigeria’s Boko
Haram sect on Saturday claimed responsibility.
“We are responsible for the attack in (northeastern) Borno (state)
and Damaturu,” Abul Qaqa said by
phone. “We will continue attacking
federal government formations until
security forces stop persecuting our
members and vulnerable civilians,”

Qaqa warned.
The Friday bomb and gun attacks
targeted police stations, an army
base and churches in the cities of
Damaturu, Maiduguri and two other
small towns.
Militants from Boko Haram,
whose name means “Western education Is Sin” in the regional Hausa
language, have in the past targeted
police and military, community
and religious leaders, as well as
politicians.
The sect, which wants to see the
establishment of an Islamic state in
northern Nigeria, staged an uprising
which was brutally put down by security forces in 2009. Nigeria’s more
than 160 million people are divided
almost in half between Muslims and
Christians, living roughly in the
north and south of the country respectively. Regions where they overlap are prey to frequent tensions.

Four dead as Indian
ship sinks off oman
MUSCAT
AfP

Four crewmen died and five are still missing
after an Indian ship sank in bad weather off
the coast of Oman, state media in the Gulf
sultanate reported on Sunday.
The Omani coastguard rescued six sailors
and recovered four bodies after the sinking
around 12 kilometres off the town of Sadh in
the southern Dhofar region, reports said.
Torrential rains this week sparked
flashflooding in Dhofar that killed 12 people,
authorities in the region said.

China web firms vow
to curb ‘harmful’ info
BEIJING
AfP

The heads of China’s largest Internet and
technology firms have vowed to stop the “spread
of harmful information” on the web. Web firms
came to a “common agreement” to “safeguard”
the spreading of positive information online and
“strengthen self-management and selfdiscipline”, the report said. The pledge by the
private and state-owned companies backs
efforts by the government to tighten its grip on
the fast-growing Internet sector, which has
become a platform for citizens to express their
opinions and frustrations.

Stranded Everest trekkers walk to safety
KATHMANDU
AfP

Hundreds of foreign tourists stranded by heavy fog
in the everest region are hiking their way to safety
across the Himalayas, an official said Sunday.
With continuing bad weather hampering their
rescue, up to 400 of the thousands of stranded
trekkers have given up waiting for the fog to lift and
are heading to Jiri, a four-day walk away, to pick up
buses back to Kathmandu. Managers on Wednesday
were forced to close the only airstrip in Lukla, the
gateway for climbers heading to everest and surrounding mountains, grounding all flights in and out
of the region. “There is a very low visibility so we are
not expecting the resumption of regular flights
today,” said Utsab Kharel, the manager of Tenzing
Hillary Airport in Lukla.
“Around 300 to 400 tourists have walked from
Lukla to Jiri after losing hope of an improvement in the
weather.” The army had hoped to deploy its rescue helicopter, which carries up to 40 people, but bad weather

has prevented it from accessing Lukla, 135 kilometres
(84 miles) from Kathmandu.
“Small helicopters have continued rescuing
tourists from Surke, a village a one-and-half hour
walk from Lukla,” said Kharel. “They have carried
around 400 foreigners to Kathmandu.” The stranded
trekkers, including Americans, Britons and Germans,
have been sleeping at the airport and in tents and
dining halls at Lukla hotels, officials say, with the fog
not expected to lift until at least Monday. “300 are in
Surke are still waiting their turn. Around 2,200 to
2,500 are languishing in Lukla,” Kharel said. “The
prices of daily commodities have soared up and the
stock of meat and vegetables is running empty.”
Nepal, a popular destination for mountaineers
and trekkers, has eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks
over 8,000 metres, including the world’s highest,
Mount everest, at 29,029 feet. Thousands of foreign
tourists visit the everest region during the peak
tourism season late in the year.
Around 500 travellers fly in and out of Lukla on
a normal day when weather conditions are good.

rai Khan and SRk himself. The movie is
studded with performances by Kareena
Kapoor and Arjun Rampal who form the
main cast of film along with SRK. Priyanka
Chopra, Sunjay Dutt and super star Rajnikanth have given guest appearances in
the movie.

Ayzel Maison De Couture
extends collection
ISLAMABAD
STAff rePOrT

Multi designer fashion house ‘Ayzel Maison De Couture’ now brings more fashion
collections for fashion lovers by placing
latest collections of many Pakistani fashion
designers.
Fashion label Ayzel Maison De Couture
recently opened in Islamabad and besides
having collections by many renowned fashion designers; amateur designers’ collection has been exhibited there now.
The fashion store exhibits ladies’
dresses by well known Pakistani fashion
designers and also displays high end jewelry, handbags and accessories.
The new fashion designers displaying
their collection at Ayzel Maison De Couture include Urban Wear, Sadaf Sherazi,
Rabia J., KHM Couture and Waseem Noor.

Agha Sheraz opens
Burnout cafe
ISLAMABAD
STAff rePOrT

Famous Pakistani television artist, Agha
Sheraz, has launched an auto mobile
themed café in Islamabad with his two
friends Babar and Waqas. The café is called
‘Burnout’.
Burnout is the only café in Pakistan
based on such an innovative theme that
has an automobile themed décor as its
main attraction. Pakistani celebrity, Agha
Sheraz, has introduced car shaped seat
sofas with tyres and flashing lights in this
Burnout café. Logos of various automobiles have also been used in the décor.
Federal Minister Chaudhry Wajahat
Hussain inaugurated the café. Many Pakistani celebrities such as Laila Zuberi,

LAHore: wasabi, the first of its kind home-delivery service
for Japanese cuisine, launched at Y-block. PhoTos By AmIr BABA
Zeba Bakhtiar, Shabbir Jaan, and Tony attended the launching ceremony of
Burnout café in Islamabad. The café
serves Italian, Thai, Mexican, continental
and Lebanese cuisine.

Should ‘the chase’ continue?
MUMBAI
AGeNCIeS

Come December, and
Farhan Akhtar will be
back with the second
instalment of action
thriller ‘Don’ with
Shah Rukh Khan in
‘Don 2: The Chase
Continues’.
Shah Rukh has always
maintained that their intention of doing Don 2 was “to pay
tribute to Amitabh ji. There is
only one ‘Don’ and he is Amitabh
Bachchan.” But the fact is that the
original Don personally doesn’t
favour the trend. Bachchan
had said that neither he nor
his son Abhishek favour remakes of classics and that
the original should be left as
original. Does this rattle
him?

“I am a huge fan of Amit uncle. But to
say that classics should not be remade.
Perhaps he said it in a different
context. It cannot be a standalone statement because the
same person has done a remake of Sholay,” said Farhan.
He continues, “When you look
back - the most remade film
ever in the history of cinema is
Devdas. It has been made
eight times. When it was
being remade with Dilip
Kumar people objected saying that how can one make
Devdas with Dilip Kumar
and that only K L Saigal can
do it. People are fascinated by certain
stories and they
want to retell
the story for
today’s audience. What is
wrong in that?”

Sandalwood can’t afford Raima
MUMBAI: Actress raima Sen says she was offered a role in a Kannada movie, but didn’t take
it up because it wasn’t financially viable. Actress raima Sen has certainly made a career in
offbeat cinema, so it’s little wonder that she’s called an indie heroine of sorts. “I am not
interested in commercial cinema because I have always been different, right from my debut
when I played the role of Sejal in ‘godmother’. Sure, there was ‘Honeymoon travels Pvt Ltd’,
‘Mirch’ and now ‘raakh’, but I get the kind of roles I want to do in Bengali cinema,” says raima.
Now that Bollywood is changing, with directors like Dibakar Banerjee and Bejoy Nambiar making
edgy films, wouldn’t she want to lend her offbeat film experience to B-town? “of course I
would love to do experimental films. I am a director’s actor and seeing the way Bollywood has
changed over the years, it would be great,” says the actor. given that she has only two upcoming
B-town films - a cameo in John Abraham’s I Me Aur Hum and tanjua Chandra’s raakh alongside
rajeev Khandelwal and vir Das - it seems like the Bong bombshell has made the right move
in shifting her gaze down south. raima recently made her
Mollywood debut with veeraputhran, a biopic on the life of
freedom fighter Mohammed Abdul rahman, directed by Pt
Kunjumohammed. How did she bag the role? “there was a film
festival in Kerala and Mohammed happened to see the
Japanese wife. He liked it and flew to Mumbai and told me
that when he saw the film he could only think of me in the
role,” says raima, adding, “I was a bit sceptical initially, but
he was so confident that I decided to do it. And it was a
fabulous experience, I never felt like an outsider on the set.”
Is she game for tollywood and Kollywood as well? “My sister
(riya Sen) has done some films down south and she has
had a good stint in these industries. If I get good projects,
I will definitely take them up,” says raima. Buzz is that
the actor was approached for a Sandalwood film. Prod
her about this and she says, “there were talks, but it
didn’t materialize as it wasn’t financially viable. Also, my
dates didn’t work out.” AGeNCIeS

Bobby Deol
likely
to play

‘Jat
Dehati’
MUMBAI: Satish Kaushik plans
to start a film next year with
Bobby Deol tentatively titled
Jat Dehati, where he plays a
truck driver. “the film’s
screenplay is ready and Bobby
has liked it but talks are still at
an initial stage”, said Kaushik,
who has been building a library
of movies post ‘Milenge
Milenge’.”would you imagine
Bollywood heroes agreeing to play a
truck driver few years back, or have
a title like rowdy rathore for a film?
everybody wanted to do romcoms
and go abroad to exotic locations for
shoots”. says vijay galani, the
producer of Jat Dehati. AGeNCIeS

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:27 AM Page 17

17
LOS ANGELES

T

AGeNCIeS

O transform himself
into an aging J. edgar
Hoover, Leonardo
DiCaprio sat for
hours at a time while
makeup artists gave him liver
spots, yellow teeth and big, bulbous love handles. He spends a
good chunk of Clint eastwood’s
film ‘J. edgar’ that way, sweating
and sneering in the unforgiving
lighting of F.B.I. headquarters.
The part also meant memorizing endless monologues that
needed to be delivered with
Hoover’s own breakneck cadence.
Additionally Mr. DiCaprio, who
typically comes accessorized with
a supermodel girlfriend in real
life, had to wrestle aggressively
with a man and then kiss him.

oh, and wear a dress.
Faced with a role with demands like that, most superstar
actors, even those eager to catch
the attention of Oscar voters,
would have turned and run. Look
unhandsome and unheroic? Too
big a risk, even with Mr eastwood
at the wheel. But Mr DiCaprio, at
least the post-‘Titanic’ one, has
made a career of highly risky
choices, and somehow it keeps
paying off not only on the awards
circuit — he has been nominated
for three Academy Awards — but
at the box office as well.
“When I can’t immediately define the character, and there’s an
element of mystery to it and still a
lot to be explored, that’s when I
say yes,” the 36-year-old Mr DiCaprio said in an interview last
week on a patio at the Bel Air

Leo’s risk-taking
Leo’s choices range from a urine-collecting howard
hughes in ‘The Aviator’ to a Zimbabwean smuggler in
‘Blood Diamond’ to a mental patient in ‘shutter Island’ to
a dream extractor in ‘Inception’
These may be eccentric but he maintains his knack of
judging what works
g

g

Hotel here. “I like those kinds of
complicated characters. I just do.”
Hollywood typically doesn’t
like that answer. The star system
may have become more subtle
since the days of Clark Gable and
Jimmy Stewart, but it’s still a system: American actors are supposed
to be more steady persona, less
shape shifter. “The apparatus likes
to box actors up,” said Brian
Grazer, a producer of ‘J. edgar’,
which is set for release on Wednesday. “Once they become successful
in one role, get them into picture
after picture where they can do exactly the same thing.”
Mr. Grazer added: “To resist
that, you have to make very hard
choices. Most people are too
afraid.”
It probably helps that DiCaprio has managed to retain a
mystique about his personal life in
the celebrity blogger era. Keeping
that distance is something he
works on. In an interview, for instance, he didn’t pretend to be a
friend the way a lot of stars do. He
likes his privacy, but this game

also makes his performances
more successful; people are more
likely to accept him as a largerthan-life character if they don’t
have a very clear idea of who he is
off screen.
DiCaprio’s choices may be unusual, but he does have his own
version of sticking with what
works. The characters are mostly
tortured, unsympathetic, larger-

‘Tower Heist’: Comedy of comeuppance
MONITORING DESK
Forty-five minutes or so into ‘Tower
Heist’ the question arises: Is this movie
with the title of purest generica — was
‘Stealing Money’ taken? — truly good, or
simply less bad than most of what director Brett Ratner has done previously?
Played by the Trump Tower just off
Columbus Circle across from Central
Park, the luxe high-rise of ‘Tower Heist’
is home to a Wall Street tycoon (Alan
Alda) whose ethics recall Bernie Madoff's.
He's entrusted by building manager Josh
Kovacs (Ben Stiller) to handle the employees’ pensions. Poof: Pensions, be
gone. Political connections favor the tycoon getting away with his $2 billion
crime spree, a portion of which represents the staff's life savings. It is up to Kovacs, with the aid of semi-pro burglar and

fellow Queens resident Slide (Murphy), to
locate and swipe a missing $20 million
hidden somewhere in the tycoon's penthouse, the centerpiece of which is a beautifully maintained classic Ferrari once
owned by Steve McQueen. The promotional imagery for ‘Tower Heist’ does not
hide the sequences involving the Ferrari
dangling from a cable outside the building, while down below the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day parade proceeds along
Central Park West. Compared with the
outsized chaos of the ‘Rush Hour’ sequels, though, Ratner's latest has a pleasing sense of scale. The film actors such as
Matthew Broderick (as a sad-sack Wall
Street victim), Michael Pena (as a newly
hired bellhop), Casey Affleck (whose droll
line readings as the concierge are consistently surprising) and Gabourey ‘Precious’ Sidibe (as a safecracking maid).

‘Rockstar’ cannot allude to ‘Free tibet’
MUMBAI: the Censor Board has clamped down on certain audio and visual portions of the
much-awaited ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘rockstar’ that opens next week. one would think
Imtiaz Ali's musical odyssey about a small-town boy's journey from anonymity to
superstardom on the wings of love would have flown through the censors, but it was not
to be. It was only after Ali and the film's producers agreed to make the required deletions
that the Censor Board passed the film with
a UA certificate. the changes ordered by
the board included the muting
(beeping no longer allowed) of the
words ‘sex’ and ‘bastard’ in the
soundtrack -- words that
commonly occur in our films and
would have been allowed if the
‘rockstar’ team had agreed to an
'A' certificate. Likewise, a Hindi
expletive which apparently ranbir
Kapoor's character uses whenever he's
emotionally aggravated, has been muted
wherever it occurs. Again, the word,
common in the films of Anurag Kashyap,
vishal Bhardwaj and other purveyors of
cowbelt lingo, was not permissible in a film
passed for kids with parental guidance.
Most notable of all is the board's
instruction to do away with a reference to
tibetan freedom from Chinese dominion.
Apparently, Imtiaz Ali has been asked to
do away with a flag in the film that reads
'Free tibet'. the Ceo of the Censor Board,
Pankaja thakur, has confirmed the
alterations in the film. AGeNCIeS

than-life guys created with the help
of a tiny club of A-list directors,
most notably Martin Scorsese.
“Leonardo could make a lot of
money making mechanical genre
pictures, but he wants to be challenged,” Mr eastwood said by
telephone. “And it’s much more of
a challenge to play someone who
doesn’t have the slightest thing in
common with you.”
Next on Mr. DiCaprio’s docket
is the title role in Baz Luhrmann’s
remake of ‘The Great Gatsby’, and
he’s ready to play Frank Sinatra in
another Scorsese biopic. “That is
in Mr Scorsese’s hands,” he said of
a potential Sinatra film, pausing
to pop a wedge of watermelon into
his mouth and pour himself another cup of coffee. “I’m always incredibly game for anything that he
decides to do.”
‘J. edgar’ fits snugly into this
canon. The best biopics offer a
portrait of person, warts and all,
and invite viewers to make their
own judgments about him, and
Mr eastwood’s film strives to do
just that. Hoover is depicted as a

brilliant patriot who invented
modern forensics and stopped at
nothing to protect America
through eight presidents and
three wars. But the omnipowerful
FBI director was an impediment,
to put it mildly, to the civil rights
movement and worked as hard to
distort the truth as he did to collect it (and file it away) to secure
his power.
All of that is more or less fact.
The treacherous part of ‘J. edgar’,
written by Dustin Lance Black, an
Oscar winner for his “Milk”
screenplay, involves the gray. Was
Hoover homosexual? Nobody
knows for sure. He certainly had
an unusually close relationship
with his FBI colleague Clyde Tolson, played in the film by Armie
Hammer (‘The Social Network’).
even less clear is whether Hoover
liked to wear women’s clothes, but
Mr eastwood and Mr DiCaprio
decided to retain Mr Black’s artful
nod to the rumour.
“Obviously there’s a love story
here,” Mr eastwood said.
“Whether it is a gay love story or
something else — well, the audience can interpret it. My intention
was to show two men who really
love each other, and beyond that
it’s none of my business.”
Mr DiCaprio’s risk taking is
cheered by the Hollywood contingent that loves serious films, raising him to the level of deity for his
willingness to make the kind of
drama that is an endangered
species at major studios these
days. But a more business-minded
crowd — agents, studio chiefs —
says taking on all of these biopics
is a mistake. The worry is that at
some point Mr DiCaprio will become uninteresting to audiences if
he doesn’t pepper his road with a
wider variety of roles.”

On screen, real
figures danced
Satosphere is a scion of the circle-Vision theater, unveiled at the
1967 international and Universal exposition’s Bell Pavilion in Montreal
g

CANADA
AGeNCIeS

The audience finds itself inside a giant
uterus. Or it flies around cathedral ruins. Or
it is transported to a dark, lonely forest. Such
are the experiences offered by Satosphere, a
new cinema with a massive dome screen in
Montreal designed by the Society for Arts
and Technology to provide spectators with a
360-degree view of art projections. eight
video projectors splash images over the entire surface of the steel-framed shell, which
juts from the roof of the building, while 157
speakers emit sounds, creating the world’s
first wholly immersive cinema. So advanced
is it that it allows for viewing art in three dimensions without 3D glasses. Satosphere’s
first show in October, Marie-Claude Paulin
and Martin Kusch’s “Interior,” tickled all the
senses as guests also sampled fragrant tomatoes and Sichuan pepper drinks. “In the beginning of cinema we hung a sheet in a room
and arranged chairs in rows in front of it.
And for 100 years that is how we have addressed the contents, like in a box. “We said
to ourselves that now we have a created a
playground for the next century,” said President Satosphere Monique Savoie. “Today
with the ability to take pictures from multiple viewpoints we can show someone an environment in 360 degrees or we can put that
person inside the image. “Or we can create
something which allows us to project a person onto screens, more like mirrors, and
allow us to have someone almost floating in
the space right in the middle of the experience,” she added. The Satosphere is both for
showing today’s most immediate multimedia works as well as a powerful digital tool
for creating a new form of art. Architects and
developers might also use the cinema to
present their ideas before starting construction of new buildings. even hospitals are interested in the technology that opens up vast
new possibilities for creating pleasant virtual
environments for recuperating patients. In

offices above the domed theater, teams of researchers are already working on a next generation of the technology. A six-lens camera
that uses software to patch together images
seamlessly to allow for the filming of 360degree films. “What makes the Satosphere
unique is this idea of projecting something
really from ceiling to floor,” said production
and development director Louis-Philippe StArnault. “Unlike in stereoscope (or 3D)
where using glasses you create a feeling of
depth, here it is by really moving into the
image that you can really feel this notion of
three dimensions.” Another use of the satosphere promoted by Luc Courchesne, a digital
art and interactive multimedia guru, would
be bringing artists and the public together in
a sort of virtual chat room. Two or more people separated by thousands of kilometers
(miles), he said, for example in Montreal and
Paris, or Vancouver and Hong Kong, could
come together in “mirror spaces.”

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:27 AM Page 18

Monday, 7 November, 2011

Hometown hero Federer a win
away from 5th Basel crown
Page 23

Majeed’s brother
says Pak player
blew the whistle

SpeCiAL viGiLAnCe teAm to monitoR pAkiStAn pLAyeRS

Pakistan ready to tour India
first to break the ice: Zaka
LAHORE

K
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

In another intriguing twist to the spot-fixing
saga, the elder brother of convicted bookie
Mazhar Majeed has claimed that a Pakistani
cricketer was responsible for blowing the lid
off Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer’s involvement in the scam.
“He was a member of the Pakistan team and
he harboured a grudge against the then captain (Butt) and blew a whistle on the relationship between the players and Mazhar my
brother,” Azhar said in an interview to a private television channel from London. “This
player who is not well-educated set the (New
of the World) journalist, Mazhar Mahmood
on the track for the spot-fixing story,” he
added. Azhar’s brother, Mazhar who acted as
an agent for Butt, Asif and Aamer was jailed
for 32 months by a British crown court on
Thursday for his role in the scandal. The
three Pakistani players got different jail terms
as well from the court. Azhar made it clear
that while he knew and represented several
leading Pakistani players including Saqlain
Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad
Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif,
and Mushtaq Ahmed but he never knew what
his brother was involved in. Azhar added that
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believed he was
Mazhar’s business partner, which was not
true at all. “It is disappointing what Mazhar
did, it is deplorable and was wrong because
both of us love cricket and are very passionate
about it and Pakistan cricket in particular,”
Azhar said. Interestingly, a top lawyer, who
represented Test discard Yasir Hameed in his
case against the ‘News of the World’, has also
revealed how the newspaper informed him
in writing that it was a Pakistani player who
had tipped them off about the shady dealings of Mazhar, Butt, Asif and Aamer. “I
have it in writing and the NOW has named
the player but for obvious reasons I can’t
name him. But yes they also confirmed it
was an insider who did the job. Definitely I
believe there is more to come out of this case
and more culprits need to be held accountable for their actions of damaging Pakistan
cricket,” lawyer Umar Khayyam said.

STAff rePOrT

eeN to revive bilateral cricket
ties with India, PCB’s new chief
Zaka Ashraf said if needed the
Board is willing to make the first
move and send the national
team across the border for a series to
break the ice. “I want to see our traditional bilateral ties revived as soon as possible and for that even if we have to send
our team to India to make a start we will
do it,” Ashraf said on Sunday.
The PCB chief is hoping to hold constructive talks with the officials of the ICC
and the India and Bangladesh Cricket
Boards during a visit to Dubai immediately after eid holidays.
“I will be going to Dubai to meet the
Pakistan team and officials and will also
be visiting the ICC headquarters on the
13th for a meeting in which I hope to have
talks with Bangladesh and Indian board
officials,” Ashraf said.
The biggest criticism against Ashraf’s
predecessor, Ijaz Butt, was his failure to
improve ties with other boards particularly the Indians and Bangladesh with
whom Pakistan didn’t have cordial relations since the shifting of the 2011 World
Cup matches in 2009. Ashraf said it was
important for the traditional series between Pakistan and India to be revived

because it was a big attraction of the
cricket world and guaranteed good earnings for the boards and also lifted the profile of the sport in the sub-continent.
Meanwhile, Pakistani cricketers will
be monitored by a special vigilance team
of the PCB in future when they are on foreign tours so that there is no repeat of the
spot-fixing scandal. The chairman of the
board said that the PCB would now be
taking more steps to prevent a repeat of

the spot-fixing scandal that has badly
damaged the image of Pakistan cricket.
“We have decided that on future foreign tours a special vigilance team will accompany the touring squad and keep a
close watch on activities of the players
and officials,” Ashraf said.
“We have been sending a security officer with the team since last year but we
need to expand and improve our methods
of monitoring the activities of the players,” he added.
The PCB chief admitted that although
some players might not like this idea but
after the spot-fixing scandal the board
was left with no choice but to take such
preventive measures.
“Our image was hit badly by the spotfixing scandal and trial and we now need
to take a lot of steps to repair it.” Ashraf
also disclosed that the board would be arranging for sports psychologists to have
counselling sessions with the players.
“We will have counselling sessions
supervised by prominent sports psychologists and educationists for the players
who need to be aware of their responsibilities as ambassadors of the country and
how they need to conduct themselves and
how to keep away from corrupt elements
in the game,” he explained.
The new PCB chief has stepped in at
a time when Pakistan cricket is still reeling from the spot-fixing scandal that first

broke out in england last year in September. A British crown court on Thursday
handed over different jail sentences to
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer for their involvement in
corruption and trying to spot-fix some
parts of the series against england.
The players have already begun their
jail terms. Ashraf said while he was very
disappointed and sad at the recent turn of
events involving the three players, he had
no sympathy for them at all.
“Whatever you do, you reap in life
and these players acted negligently and
without thinking about the image of Pakistan cricket and their countrymen. They
got the punishment they deserved for
their actions,” he said. Ashraf said while
his responsibility is mainly to improve the
Pakistan cricket management structure,
his priority was to repair the damaged
image of Pakistan cricket.
“The team is performing well and we
have good players but for the future we
also need to work on improving our damaged image at home and abroad,” he said.
Since 1994, Pakistan cricket has been
haunted by allegations and suspicions of
players being involved in fixing and in
2000 an independent judicial commission headed by Justice Malik Qayyum
had after an 18-month inquiry banned
former captain Salim Malik for life and
fined five other players.

Aamer deserves lighter punishment: Latif
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes that
after the confession the judge came down harsh on
young Muhammad Aamer, and feared that it would
not help the real cause of eradicating the menace of
corruption in cricket.
The painstaking trial against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer is over and the
trio is now serving their respective sentences awarded
to them by the London Court.
“I am not advocating Aamer, but he should have
been appreciated rather punished after the confession, and now I am afraid, no-one would come forward and plead guilty in the future,” said Rashid Latif
said in a television interview.
“It will put a lid on this practice but only for the
time being. To achieve the goal, Aamer should have
been persuaded to reveal the hidden hands that control this crime,” added Latif.
“Recently FIFA offered rewards to match-fixing
whistleblowers, so why can’t it be done in cricket? after
all the ultimate purpose is to root-out the menace,”
asked Latif who himself is considered as the very first

man to have come out loud against match-fixing.
Latif also felt that this verdict had brought the trio
in the focus and in the process the players doing it
without getting caught were overlooked. “The entire attention is on these three players and the rest were actually given the clean chit by the Anti Corruption and
the Security Unit (ACSU). Now the players linked to
this mafia will only target the countries where laws are
not similar to those in england,” believed Latif.
Commenting on the recurrence of such incidents
Rashid Latif reiterated that the International Cricket
Council (ICC) and its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit
(ACSU) have not been successful in this regard. Latif
was off the view that with the amount of cricket being
played, it not possible for the apex body to keep an eye
on every match. “Live telecast is somewhat a problem,
and I am convinced that only a 30-sec delay in the telecast would kill the spot-fixing. Secondly, the betting in
a match starts from the coin toss and I don’t think it’s a
rocket science to show the coin on television,” questioned Latif who has earlier criticised the composition
of the ACSU for not having ex-cricketers in it. The delay
in a telecast is not possible under the existing agreement between cricket boards and broadcasters (TV,
radio etc) which emphasises on an immediate telecast,

therefore this bilateral accord needs to be revisited,”
added Latif “In a country where
more than one channels broadcast a match the dissimilarity
in signals of each broadcaster is evident, and in
this situation all the bets
are placed on the channel
which shows the footage
without delay” “It is the
best short-term solution available to curb
the spot-fixing, the authorities should at
least give it a try,”
concludes Latif.

Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite and
veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul
hit half-centuries to steady the
West Indies on the opening day
of the first Test against India on
Sunday.
Brathwaite, who turns 19
next month, was unbeaten on 61
and Chanderpaul on 55 not out
as the tourists reached 159-3 at
tea in their first innings after
winning the toss.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan
Ojha bagged two wickets in the
first session and debutant offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin one
in the second to reduce the West
Indies to 72-3 before Brathwaite
and Chanderpaul added 87 runs.

Chanderpaul hit the first six of
the match when he lofted Ashwin
over long-on. He also cracked four
boundaries in his 88-ball knock

for his 57th Test half-century.
Brathwaite batted patiently
for four hours, having so far hit
only four boundaries in his 196ball knock for his second Test
half-century.
Ojha, playing his first Test in
a year, put pressure on the West
Indies when he trapped opener
Kieran Powell (14) leg-before in
his second over and then held a
return catch to dismiss Kirk edwards (15).
Ashwin got his maiden Test
wicket when he dismissed Darren
Bravo, who was bowled while attempting to cut in the first over
after the lunch-break.
Bravo, who smashed 195 in his
previous Test innings against
Bangladesh in Dhaka last week,
contributed 12 runs.

Ojha, who was pressed into
the attack after just nine overs,
had an opportunity to remove
Powell in his opening over but
failed to hold on to a return
catch. But the batsman fell in the
next over.
Ojha has so far conceded just
30 runs in his 20 tight overs.
India went into the opening
Test of a three-match series with
two pacemen, Ishant Sharma and
debutant Umesh Yadav, and as
many spinners, Ashwin and Ojha.
Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, the world’s leading scorer
in both Test and one-day cricket,
needs just one hundred to complete an unprecedented 100 international
centuries.
The
remaining two Tests will be
played in Kolkata and Mumbai.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:30 AM Page 19

Monday, 7 November, 2011

ICC clueless when it
comes to spot-fixing:
Cronje bookmaker

Sports 19

Sri Lanka boost lead in third Test

LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

The bookmaker who had contacted former South African captain Hansie Cronje
to fix a Test match against england reckons that the International Cricket Council
(ICC) is clueless when it comes to spotfixing. Marlon Aronstam now works in
horse racing, but claims that he has seen
enough in cricket to suggest that fixing remains rife. “The game is still crook. The
ICC anti-corruption unit are a bunch of
idiots who employ people who don’t
know what they are looking for,” the Sun
quoted Marlon Aronstam, as saying.
“They need people to look at strange incidents during a game and ask why they are
happening,” he added. Aronstam also insists that Pakistan cricketers Salman
Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad
Aamer were lured into the fixing world
because of their poor pay package. “I
think a team like england are whiterthan-white today, because their salaries
have been increased. You compare that to
what a Pakistan player earns. The TV
rights when they play cricket are worth so
much in India, and yet the players themselves are paid peanuts,” he said. “Get
that part fixed and with an international
board that knows what they are looking
for, the problem will start to disappear.
And when things occur in a match that
don`t look right, you can then ask the
player why they occurred,” he added.

The 10th Khadam-i-Aala Punjab Dangal
will be held at Lodhran on November 23
and Rustam-i-Pakistan Usman Majeed
Billu will compete with Rustam-iPaksya-o-Hind Azam Laraka Pahlwan.
Convenor to chief minister Mohsin Arshad, on wrestling, said that municipal
administration Lodhran would organise
the dangal. He informed that in all 15
bouts would be held on the day and several committees had been formed to
smoothly organise the event. DCO
Lodhran Ghulam Fareed will be the chief
guest on the prize distribution ceremony.

Shamoon wins
cycle race
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Shamoon of Lahore has won the 30 kilometer race held here at Ring Road under
the aegis of The educators School elite
Campus. Syed Nazakat was the chief
guest on the opening ceremony of the
event. Kashif earned second position,
Talha third, Sunny fourth, Umar Gujjar
fifth and Tanvir Ahmad sixth position. At
the end, owner of The educators elite
Campus Muazzam Khan distributed the
prizes among the winners.

S

AfP

RI Lanka increased their overall lead
to 141 after losing an early wicket on
the fourth day of the third and final
Test against Pakistan at Sharjah Stadium here on Sunday. Sri Lanka,
aiming to level the three-Test series after losing the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai,
moved to 68-1 at tea after losing skipper
Tillakaratne Dilshan in their second innings.
At the break, Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 43 and opener Tharanga Paranavitana was 19 not out, as Sri Lanka look to
score faster and set a target for Pakistan to
force a result. Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after winning the second Test by nine

wickets in Dubai. The first Test in Abu Dhabi
ended in a draw. earlier, left-arm paceman
Chanaka Welegadara took his maiden fivewicket haul, finishing with 5-87 after
Misbah-ul Haq missed his hundred
by just 11 runs as Pakistan were dismissed for 340. Sri Lanka had
made 413 in their first innings. The
lanky paceman improved on his
previous best of 4-87 he took
against India at Ahmedabad in
2009.
But
despite
Welegedara’s effort, it was
Misbah’s fighting knock of
89 which brought Pakistan
closer before the 37-yearold right-handed batsman
fell 10 minutes before

lunch, top edging a sweep
off spinner Suraj Randiv.
Misbah hit seven boundaries and a six during his
261-ball knock. He added an
invaluable 47 runs for the
ninth wicket with Saeed
Ajmal (12 not out) after Pakistan lost Abdul Rehman off
the last ball of the first over
of the day, caught in the slips
off Welegedara. It could have
been worse for Pakistan if
the Sri Lankan fielders had
not dropped Misbah three
times.
Wicket-keeper
Kaushal Silva failed to grab a
faint edge on a defensive push

Amar Cables beat SPM Bucks to claim title
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Amar Cables retained the second Amar Cables Veterans T20
cricket Tournament title after beating SPM Bucks by five
wickets in the final played here at the LCCA ground on Sunday. Batting first, SPM Bucks made 169 for eight in 20 overs.
Tariq Mahmood scored 58 runs while Tariq Ramzan made
27* runs. Tariq Hussain and Tariq Rashid grabbed three
wickets each.
In reply, Aamr Cables achieved the target of 170 runs for
the loss of five wickets in 19.4 overs. Amer Ilyas Butt scored
48 runs while Dastigar Butt and Zahid Umer made 43 and 30

runs respectively. Romail Bashir, Ashfaq Aslam and Zahid
took one wicket each.
In the end, the chief guests former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed gave the prizes to the
prominent players. LCCA President Kh Nadeem Ahmed, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Chief Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, Izat
Hussain, Chief executive Amar Cables Amer Ilyas Butt were
also present on the occasion.
Munir Shah was named the player of the final. Dastigar
Butt was the player of the tournament while Tariq Rashid was
best bowler, Sadat Ali and Masood were the best wicketkeepers and Munir Shah and Naseer Bhatti were declared the best
fielders.

Pakistan seeks to restore pride after scandal
KARACHI
AfP

Pakistan cricket is undergoing a severe soul
searching for ways to restore its international pride after three of its top players
were jailed over a match-fixing scandal in
england. Former Test captain Salman Butt
was on Thursday handed a 30-month
prison term while Mohammad Asif got a
year and Mohammad Aamer six months
for their roles in fixing the Lord’s Test
against england last year.
The scandal rocked the cricket world
and left Pakistan’s millions of loyal fans feeling betrayed in a country where the game is
an obsession. “It is really introspection time
for Pakistan cricket,” said former captain
Ramiz Raja. “We don’t need cricketers who
sell their souls to the devil, but we need players who are good ambassadors and play for

the honour.” The International Cricket
Council (ICC) came down hard on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the wake of the
scandal, directing them to take strict measures and warning that failure could lead to
their suspension. The PCB have shown willingness to clean up the sport but experts say
Pakistan will face a tough time in the
months and years ahead following the worst
scandal since South African captain Hansie
Cronje was banned for life in 2000.
Pakistan is also facing a huge challenge in bringing international cricket
back to a country which has not hosted
any top-drawer matches since militants
attacked the visiting Sri Lankan team in
Lahore in March 2009. Cronje’s former
team-mate David Richardson, now ICC
general manager cricket, said it was a
tough period for the sport in South Africa
after their match-fixing scandal.

Scotland yard stopped pCb
punishing players
SharJah: Scotland Yard had stopped Pakistan cricket authorities from taking any
action against players involved in the spot-fixing scandal, fearing it may have prejudiced any criminal enquiry, a report seen by AFP revealed on Sunday. Former Test
captain Salman Butt received 30 months, Mohammad Asif 12 months, Mohammad
Aamer six months and their agent Mazhar Majeed 32 months in prison for their roles
in fixing part of the Lord’s Test against england last year. The scandal, which rocked
the cricket world, surfaced only after a sting operation by the now defunct British
tabloid News of the World in August last year. Scotland Yard raided Pakistan’s team
hotel in London and interrogated the players before allowing them to leave the country only after assurances from Pakistan authorities they would return for further investigation. The Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard wrote a letter to the then
chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on September 1, 2010 asking them not to take
any action against the players. The PCB has come in for serious criticism from former
players and analysts for not taking any action, but the letter -- a copy of which has
been seen by AFP - stopped the authorities from taking any action. AfP

off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when
the batsman was on 57.
Two runs later Misbah’s uppish
drive off Welegedara went between the
hands off Angelo Mathews at mid-off
and then at 67 Misbah was let off by
Tharanga Paranavitana off the same
bowler. The Pakistan captain took full
advantage of the lapses, hitting
Welegedara for a straight six and four to
take his team’s total past the 300 mark.
In between Herath dismissed Umar Gul
for five, but Ajmal provided Misbah the
much needed assistance to bring their
team closer to the Sri Lankan total.
Welegedara finished the innings when
he bowled number 11 Junaid Khan for
nought. Herath finished with 3-85.

Kalsoom 23rd in world
weightlifting C’ship
LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

Pakistan’s women weightlifter Kalsoom
Abdullah Kakahel stood 23rd on the opening day of the World Weightlifting Championship at Disleney Land, France on
Sunday. According to PRO PWLF Suhail
Javed Butt, she represented the country in
48 kgs category. She lifted 40 kgs in
snatch, 52 kg in jerk and total of 92 kgs.
Tian Yuan of China won the gold medal
with 90 kg in snatch, 117 kg in jerk and
total 207 kg. M Irfan Butt will compete in
77 kg category on November 9 while PWLF
Secretary Hafiz Imran Butt is also there to
attend the World Weightlifting Congress
and will act as referee in the event.

Ivanovic wins
C’wealth Bank final
NUSA DUA
AfP

Ana Ivanovic celebrated her 24th birthday
on Sunday with a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues
in the final of the Commonwealth Bank
Tournament of Champions. The Serbian
former world number one and crowd
favourite maintained the upper hand in
the match, hitting aces and breaking the
Spaniard’s serves to claim the crown on
on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:30 AM Page 20

20 Sports

Monday, 7 November, 2011

gaultier reaches
another world
open final

ROTTERDAM
AfP

Gregory Gaultier, the former world number one from France, earned another
chance of achieving his life’s ambition
when he reached the World Open final for
the third time Saturday.
The 28-year-old from Aix-en-Provence
beat James Willstrop, last year’s World
Open runner-up from england, 11-6, 11-8,
11-4 with a semi-final performance which
suggested he is playing well enough to
atone for losses in two previous finals.
Gaultier appeared relaxed and confident,
his movement was superb, and he avoided
any clusters of errors which occasionally
disfigure his great talent.
Only when Willstrop led 6-2 early on did
it seem that his long reach and excellent
racket skills would cause trouble.
There was also a brief spell in the middle
of the second when Willstrop fought hard
to get back on terms, but thereafter it was
steady progress for Gaultier.
“It was a bit of a fight in the first game and
then we both relaxed, because I don’t
think we want to be aggressive on court it’s just a better game,” Gaultier said.
“He’s not like that and I don’t think I’m like
that,” he added mysteriously, perhaps a
reference to the sledging which Willstrop
later alleged had passed between them.
Asked about his chances of atoning for
the five match points he missed against
David Palmer in the 2006 final in Giza,
and the straight games loss to Amr Shabana in the following year’s final, Gaultier
gave reasons for being hopeful.
“I am quite mature now, even if I am 28,”
he claimed. “Is this when you were world
champion?” he asked his interview
Vanessa Atkinsoner, the winner of the
women’s World Open seven years ago.
“At 26, 27, 28, everything comes together.
With me mentally was how it happened. I
worked with people, and I have managed
to stay more calm on court.
“But of course I talk a lot on court, and this
is my character - you are not going to
change someone like this.”
The first signs that Gaultier was getting on
top happened when he played a forehand
volley kill, followed by a forehand cut-off
volley, and then a forehand cross court
length winner, to hurry to a 7-5 lead.
Despite a brief altercation with the referee
at the end of that first game, he was soon
motoring to leads of 3-0 and 7-3 in the second game, sometimes making the tall Willstrop twist and turn uncomfortably.
Once Willstrop lost his racket and fell
heavily, and on another occasion both men
fell and ended sitting on the court, staring
at each other, eventually grinning.
After that Willstrop’s challenge began to
fade, and when Gaultier clinched the
second game with a drop shot to a
treacherously clinging line, it became
mostly one way traffic in the third.

Manchester United celebrated the 25th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s appointment with a 1-0 win over Sunderland on
Saturday as Manchester City maintained
their five-point lead with a 3-2 win over
QPR. Sunderland’s United old boy Wes
Brown gifted victory to his former manager,
heading in an own goal on 45 minutes to
settle a lacklustre Premier League encounter at a packed Old Trafford.
Ferguson had earlier been given a
guard of honour by both teams as he
walked out onto the pitch before club officials revealed the north stand had been renamed in his honour. But the celebratory
mood fell flat after kick-off as United struggled to break down Sunderland, managed
by former United captain Steve Bruce. Ferguson later said he believed his players had
been affected by the emotion of the occasion. “It was an anxious day for the players

and I think they showed that today. They
improved in the second-half, but the last 15
minutes was torture,” he said.
“Possibly the occasion got to the players. The players wanted to do well for me, I
think that was obvious, but these occasions
can be a bit like that.” Ferguson said United
-- who have now registered four consecutive clean sheets since their 6-1 derby
thrashing by City last month -- were now
preparing for a decisive part of the season
after next week’s international break.
“This is a pivotal moment for us because we now have three and a half months
with no interruptions -- we can really kick
on and have a go now,” he said. City later
took the gloss of the celebrations at Old
Trafford with a battling victory over newlypromoted QPR at Loftus Road.
Goals from edin Dzeko, David Silva
and Yaya Toure secured all three points
for Roberto Mancini’s men, who remain
unbeaten in the league and have now
reeled off eight straight wins in all com-

petitions. QPR had given City a scare
after taking a first-half lead through Jay
Bothroyd before Dzeko equalised. A
clever Silva goal gave City a 2-1 lead but
Rangers battled back to level their Heidar Helguson before a towering Toure
header settled it for City.
elsewhere Saturday, Newcastle maintained their superb unbeaten start to the
season with a 2-1 victory over everton at
St James Park. The Magpies -- who remain unbeaten after 11 games -- sealed
their third consecutive league victory courtesy of a John Heitinga own goal and a
spectacular Ryan Taylor volley.
everton pulled one back through Jack
Rodwell on the stroke of half-time but the
Toffees were unable to salvage a positive
result after the break. Chelsea ended their
mini-slump with a first victory in three
league games against Blackburn, Frank
Lampard scoring the game’s only goal to
relieve the pressure on manager Andre
Villas Boas as the Blues won 1-0.

LoNDoN: Manchester City’s midfielder David
Silva shoots to score their second goal. AFP

Valencia beat city rivals Levante 2-0
away from home on Saturday evening to
go joint-second with Barcelona in La
Liga on 24 points and one point behind
leaders Real Madrid, ahead of games on
Sunday.
On Sunday, Real Madrid entertain
Osasuna in an unusual midday kick-off
and in the evening Barcelona go to an
Athletic Bilbao side unbeaten in nine
games. A Javi Venta own-goal and a
Tino Costa free-kick were enough for Valencia to edge a typically bruising derby
match. The opening goal came on 35
minutes when Costa played in Jordi Alba
with a majestic threaded pass, Levante
full-back Venta was quick to react but
unlucky when all he could do to avoid a

clear scoring opportunity was steer the
ball into his own net. Costa then doubled
the away team’s lead with a floating freekick from distance on 50 minutes that
deceived Gustavo Munua in the Levante
goal. To their credit Levante rallied and
created a host of chances and Ivorian
Arouna Kone should have pulled one
back on 73 minutes when presented with
a clear opportunity from close range.
Vicente Guaita remained solid in the
Valencia goal and ‘Los Che’ now exchange positions with a rival who had
previously never started a local-derby
ahead of them. For Levante, previously
surprise leaders of La Liga, it is the second consecutive defeat and after such a
good start perhaps a sign that their objective of survival is the most realistic
they can hope for. In other games on
Saturday Real Betis ended a run of six

consecutive defeats on Saturday holding
Malaga 0-0 in an entertaining Andalusian derby as Sevilla were also held to a
goalless draw at Real Mallorca.
Real Betis missed the chance to
claim a much-needed victory when
striker Ruben Castro’s close range effort
proved off target while in the second period goalkeeper Casto espinosa did well
to keep out a header from Malaga’s Jose
Rondon.
For Betis however the result ended a
spiral of six losses and leaves them in
11th position in La Liga as Malaga consolidate their sixth position.
earlier, Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas
once again proved the hero for his side
in a 0-0 draw under torrential rain in
Real Mallorca.
Both sides needed a morale-boosting
victory with Sevilla suffering their first

defeat of the season 2-1 at home to
Granada last weekend as Mallorca were
looking for a first win under new coach
Joaquin Caparros in a run that now
stretches to five matches.
But it was Varas, the goalkeeper of
the moment in Spain after saving a lastminute penalty from Lionel Messi in
Barcelona two weeks ago, who proved
the man of the match.
The 29-year-old did well to save a
first-half effort from emilio Nsue from
distance and proved solid again early in
the second period against Chori Castro.
Mallorca offered less attacking options as the game went on and seemed
content with a point by the full-time
whistle. The result leaves Sevilla fifth, a
point ahead of Malaga, while Mallorca
struggle two points above the relegation
zone.

BASeL: Switzerland’s roger Federer returns the ball to compatriot Stanislas wawrinka. AFP
Monday, with Djokovic now in serious
doubt of fronting up. He said he is likely
to travel to the city and hope for the best.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to train for the
next few days.” Djokovic said that his
gruelling first-round win over Xavier
Malisse on Tuesday could have set the
tone for the rest of the week.
“It was a shock to the body,” he said
of the opening struggle. “Competition is
different to practise.
“I may have forced things too much I
was feeling afraid of the shoulder and
what might happen to it. My rhythm on
my serve has been completely off.”
Nishikori needed a set to overcome
his jitters against Djokovic, but showed
his potential as he levelled at one apiece

after a 71-minute marathon with seven
unforced errors while Djokovic’s errors
mounted to a massive 18 in the set. It was
all Nishikori in the third set.
“I played well from the second set,”
said the Japanese winner, “I got my
rhythm and hit some unbelievable shots.
“After Shanghai (where he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) I’ve felt different with my
game. I’m playing differently, more
solid from the baseline and not making
any stupid errors.”
Federer trained once with Nishikori
five years ago in Miami and could see that
the teenager had potential. “He’s been
playing well in recent weeks and really rising in the rankings. It will be a tough
match, but I go in with the experience.”

Djokovic’s dream may end in nightmare
BASEL
AfP

SEOUL
AfP

A possible date with Barcelona’s glittering line-up was a “wonderful thing” for
Al Sadd, said coach Jorge Fossati Sunday, after qualifying for the World Club
Cup by winning the AFC Champions
League. Fossati, who led the Qatari side
to a dramatic win on penalties against
South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, said his team could meet Lionel
Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi in the
competition which starts on December
8 in Tokyo.
“It’s a wonderful thing for my players,”
the Uruguayan told AFP, explaining
that the draw means his side must win
at least one game before setting up the
clash between the little known Qataris
and the Catalan giants.
“We must enjoy our victory now, but we
will soon represent Asia in the World
Club Cup, so we need to be in top condition for that.
“We will continue to improve and I will
push the team to go to Japan to have
more than just a look... we must perform and see what happens.”
Fossati was speaking in Incheon airport
before the team flight to Doha after a
night of celebrations following their 4-2
win on penalties in the thrilling Champions League final against favourites
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
His side triumphed after a nail-biting
2-2 stalemate forced extra-time and
then penalties, which saw Al Sadd
claim a continental trophy for the first
time since 1989. “I’m proud of the these
players and the mentality they have
shown to win the trophy,” he said.
“They can now trust themselves.”
The World Club Cup will see clubs
from every continent compete over ten
days in Japan. The field is led by
Barcelona and Santos, with Al Sadd
joining the winners of the J-League
and Mexico’s Monterrey.

STAR SPORTS

AfP

OGeR Federer stands one win
away from a fifth home title at
the Swiss Indoors after winning
his tenth match against good
friend and compatriot Stanislas
Wawrinka 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 on Saturday.
“It’s always tough to play Stan,” said Federer, 10-1 against his Beijing Olympic
gold medal doubles partner with four victories in 2011 alone. “It’s never easy. We
know each other’s game so well.”
The 16-time grand slam champion
and holder will face Japanese surprise
packet Kei Nishikori, who pounced upon
an injured world number one Novak
Djokovic in a 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 semifinal upset. Federer is searching for his
first trophy since the first week of the year
when he won Doha. While he’s played
semi-finals at the Australian and US
Opens, it’s been an off-year for the onetime tennis dominator.
Nishikori, ranked 32nd and now a
winner over three Top 10 players in a
month, owns one career title at age 21,
which he claimed three years ago in Delray Beach. Djokovic, who has had a
charmed run for most of 2011 with ten titles, lost only his fourth match of a season
which could now turn into an injury
nightmare. The Serb revealed that he had
been playing all week with a sore shoulder
similar to the injury which forced him to
quit the Cincinnati final in August against
Andy Murray before the US Open.
“I could barely serve for much of the
match, I was in pain,” said the player who
only returned this week after six weeks
out with a back injury.
“My shoulder is very bad, we won’t
even talk about the third set. I have a lot
of pain in my body from the competition
this week. I hope I can be ready for
Paris.” That Masters event starts on

Novak Djokovic’s dream season could be at risk of ending on a low note after the world number one lost only
his fourth match of 2011 when he went down 2-6, 7-6
(7/4), 6-0 on Saturday to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the
semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors. Djokovic said he had
been playing all week with a sore shoulder similar to the
injury which forced him to quit the Cincinnati final in
August against Andy Murray before the US Open. “I
could barely serve for much of the match, I was in pain,”
said the Serb, who has won ten titles in 2011 but only
returned this week after six weeks out with a back injury. “My shoulder is very bad, we won’t even talk about
the third set. I have a lot of pain inmy body from the
competition this week. I hope I can be ready for Paris.”
That Masters event starts on Monday, with Djokovic
now in serious doubt of fronting up. He said he is likely
to travel to the city and hope for the best.

Lucian Bute kept his undefeated record
intact with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Glen Johnson in an International Boxing Federation
super-middleweight title fight on Saturday. The 31-year-old Canadian-based
Romanian Bute improved 30-0 and
made the tenth defence of the title he
won in 2007. “It was a great fight and a
great performance for me,” said southpaw Bute, who saw his string of six consecutive KOs snapped.
“Glen Johnson is a great fighter. To
beat him, you have to avoid the jab. I
did that and I tried to out-jab him. I
have to be able to beat guys like him.”
Two of the three judges gave Bute all 12
rounds and he lost just one round on
the other judge’s scorecard in front of a
crowd of 15,306 at the Colisee arena.
The 42-year-old Johnson, of Jamaica,
fell to 51-16-2. He has lost five of his
past nine fights.
Johnson (51-16-2) injured his right
arm in the fight but continued to fight.
He didn’t take the loss well. “I think I
won the fight,” said Johnson. “I beat
him with one hand.
“It’s tough to win in your opponent’s
hometown because as soon as he does
one little thing, the crowd goes crazy instead of paying attention to what the
punches are telling you.”
On the undercard, Canadian super-bantamweight Steve Molitor outpointed Sebastien Gauthier in a 10-round split
decision to improve to 34-2. In Hollywood, Florida, Panama’s Guillermo
Jones scored a sixth round technical
knockout of Mike Marrone to retain his
World Boxing Association cruiserweight
title on Saturday. Jones knocked Marrone down in the fifth and sixth rounds
at the Hard Rock Live Arena. Jones improved to 38-3-2 with his 30th knockout, while Marrone fell to 20-4.

Brilliant Kaymer takes HSBC Champions title
SHANGHAI
AfP

Germany’s
Martin
Kaymer
carded a sensational seven
birdies on the back nine on Sunday to take the HSBC Champions
title in Shanghai by three strokes
over in-form Swede Fredrik Jacobson.
The world number six
Kaymer finished 20-under overall in the seven-million-dollar
showpiece with his timely round
of 68, capping off his remarkable
day with a 15-foot birdie putt on
the 18th.
Jacobson had commanded
the summit of the leaderboard
since round two but the 54th
ranked player fired three bogeys
as Kaymer went three strokes
clear with clinical green finishes
-- including a blistering 30-footer
on the 16th.

Kaymer, who had nine
birdies in all on the day, finished
Asia’s flagship tournament on
268 at the Sheshan International
course in Shanghai.
“It was an ok year, now it is a
good one,” said the understated
26-year-old German.
Kaymer began the year with
his triumph at the Abu Dhabi
HSBC Golf Championship but
then saw his form dip until Sunday, when his game came together in spectacular fashion to
snatch the win from Jacobson.
Northern Ireland’s Graeme
McDowell redeemed himself in
part after his nightmare weekend
at the Andalucia Masters last
week. He carded five birdies in
his five-under 67 to finish in
third.
england’s injury-recovering
Paul Casey finished tied fourth
alongside South African Charl

Schwartzel and world number
three Rory McIlroy.
Northern Irish star McIlroy,
who was shadowed inside the
ropes by tennis star girlfriend
Caroline Wozniacki throughout
the tournament, saw his front
nine rally to gain the lead peter
out with two bogeys.
england’s world number two
Lee Westwood endured a miserable day at the office with five bogeys and a spell looking for a
wayward ball in a fir tree to finish
tied 13th.
Australian Adam Scott,
whose caddy Steve Williams is at
the centre of a race storm after
comments about Tiger Woods,
saw his challenge slip, finishing
tied 12th after carding four bogeys. Scott is under pressure to
sack Williams, who called Woods
a “black arsehole” during a gala
awards dinner on Friday night.

AKISTAN has gone an extra mile in facilitating India for trade liberalisation,” a commerce ministry official
speaking on condition of anonymity,
said while talking to Profit. “However the real roadblock in trade liberalisation remains to Non Tariff
Barriers (NTBs) by India, due to which trade volumes could not increase in the last 16 years despite
India having granted us the MFN status,” he added.

ADDressINg BoTTLeNeCks
According to reports, the federal cabinet on 2nd
November approved the proposal for granting India the
MFN status in an attempt to improve bilateral relations
between the two countries. “The Indian counterparts
during their talks with the Federal Commerce Minister,
Makhdoom Amin Fahim had acknowledged that Non
Tariff Barriers were major bottlenecks that have served
as an impediment to increasing trade volumes,”
commerce ministry sources explained.

NoN TArIff BArrIers
In the year 2011, Indian exports to Pakistan stood at
$1.445 billion, whereas exports from Pakistan to
India amounted to a marginal $286 million.
“While India granted Pakistan the MFN status in
1996, the Non Tariff Barriers such as visa issues,
and conditions whereby exporters are expected to
have an office in India have retarded progress in establishing a fair trade regime. It is beyond the
scope of understanding that India expects indigenous exporters from Pakistan to have
offices in India, when they might not
even be granted visas,” commerce
ministry sources elaborated.

mfN sTATus To INDIA
Pakistan has in principle agreed
to grant India the MFN status,
while India in return has decidedly made its intentions clear that
they would not raise objections to
the Pak-eU unilateral trade concession. According to the eU preferential Trade package, Pakistan will be
given duty free access to european
markets mainly for 75 textile related products. This preferential

trade package was given to Pakistan in light of the
devastative floods that hit the country in 2010, resulting in a cumulative loss of $43 billion to Pakistan’s economy. “The cabinet unanimously decided
in principle to accord MFN (status) to India, which
both sides will have to work towards in further engagements by their commerce secretaries,” the Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua explained
in her weekly press briefing.

eu TrADe CoNCessIoN
Sources in the WTO, while giving an update on the
european Union unilateral trade concessions, said
Bangladesh has now raised some item specific concerns over the Preferential Trade Package. While
seeking a clarification on the same issue with the
commerce ministry, they said it was strange that
Bangladesh was raising objections over the trade deal
when Pakistan has, over the years, sought to facilitate
Bangladesh on all forums, therefore intransigence on
their part was puzzling to say the least. elaborating
further the source said, that NTB’s need to be addressed on an urgent basis, in the absence of which
the entire concept of MFN would be nullified.

PerCeIveD u-TurN oN mfN
Apparently, there seemed some confusion as it was perceived initially that
the cabinet had agreed to grant
India MFN, whereas Prime Minister Gilani while talking to reporters
had said “The Cabinet has only given
its approval in principle to move forward on the issue (of MFN) and permitted the ministry of commerce,
which is actively engaged in
trade talks with New
Delhi, to negotiate
trade-related issues.”
The premier further added, “We
will give it the
go-ahead if the
situation is quite
favourable

and in the national interest. Otherwise, proceedings
on it would be withheld.”

rIsINg Pressure
Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, an eminent economist,
was of the view that the statement by the prime
minister was indicative of the rising pressure by the
business community to grant the MFN status only
after India addresses the Non Tariff Barriers. “Till
India does not eliminate the NTBs and a fair trade
regime is not established, there can be no
progress,” he said. Dr Ashfaque was of the view that
it was indeed intriguing that while on the one hand
the two countries were focusing on establishing a
fair trade regime between themselves and on the
other, India was linking MFN by Pakistan to removing its objections on the preferential trade
agreement being offered by the eU. Pak-eU trade
is a different matter altogether and India should
not link it to Pakistan’s trade with the eU.

CoNCePToPeDIA

Non Tariﬀ Barriers
Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs) are
trade barriers that restrict imports but are
not in the usual form of a tariff. Some common examples of NTB's are anti-dumping
measures and countervailing duties, which,
although they are called "non-tariff" barriers, have the effect of tariffs once they are
enacted. Their use has risen sharply after
the WTO rules led to a very significant reduction in tariff use. Some non-tariff trade
barriers are expressly permitted in very limited circumstances, when they are deemed
necessary to protect health, safety, or sanitation, or to protect depletable natural resources. In other forms, they are criticized
as a means to evade free trade rules such as
those of the World Trad Organization
(WTO), the european Union (eU), or North
American Free Trad Agreement (NAFTA)
that restrict the use of tariffs.

1

Specific Limitations
on trade

2

customs and entry
Procedures

3

Standards

5

charges on imports

6

others

mIsLeADINg rePorTs
“Till India does not address these issues, such attempts at establishing a fair trade regime will prove
to be non-starters,” Dr Ashfaque said. It is pertinent
to mention that while elements in international
media have accused Pakistan of backtracking on the MFN issue, the foreign office
spokesperson clarified, “The cabinet gave
the ministry of commerce the mandate to
take the process of normalisation forward, which would culminate in the observance of the MFN principle in its true
spirit.” “Such reports in international
media, raising doubts over
Pakistan’s intentions,
are indeed disturbing since Pakistan
has made all possible efforts to facilitate the trade
process, and has
taken serious steps
to ensure the implementation of the
MFN status to
India which has to
follow proper procedures before it is
implemented in letter and spirit,”
commerce ministry
sources added.

Committees formed to identify NTBs sec’y Commerce
KARACHI

S

STAff rePOrT

eCReTARY commerce Zafar
Mehmood wants to be fully prepared for the second round of
talks with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi scheduled for 14th
and 15th November. He is collecting details of non-tariff barriers and other impediments applied intentionally or
unintentionally by the Indian side.
In an informal chat with business
community at TDAP head office, the secretary commerce very candidly discussed the pros and cons of trade with
India while forming committees to identify barriers to exports to India and advised the business community to be
optimistic towards regional trade, the

economic growth and consumer interest. The meeting was attended by Vice
President FPCCI Khalid Tawab, DG
PAMA Abdul Waheed, Chairman PAPAAM Nabeel Hashmi, and former
Chairman PAPAAM Amir Allahwala besides representatives from auto, motorcycles, and steel sheets manufacturers
and other sectors.
The secretary commerce said that
the federal cabinet has given mandate to
the ministry of commerce regarding
MFN, and it is his duty to ensure and
protect the interest of Pakistani business
community while asking India to implement the MFN conditionality in letter
and spirit. He said that while India has
not given relaxations to Pakistani exporters, under MFN already granted in
1996, Pakistan has also kept its principle

stand intact. “A negative list in excess of
500 items out of over 7,000 tradable
items will be maintained initially, but
will be eliminated with the passage of
time,” he added.
The commerce secretary said that
Pakistan is not giving any favour to
India by offering the status of ‘Most Favored Nation’ (MFN), but all this is covered by existing laws of the World Trade
Organisation and international treaties.
Auto industry representatives expressing their reservations said that the
government should take a holistic approach towards trade and protecting the
local industry. On the one hand it ensures level playing field, on the other,
one of its important wings i.e. planning
commission, recommends tariff rationalisation which will devastate engineer-

ing and smaller industry.
The government, while pursuing initiatives like trade with India should realise that it already has the most liberal
used car import policy which shows that
there is no preparation for the likely impact of opening trade with India.
Currently Pakistan allows 1,996
items’ import from India under Appendix G of Import Policy Order, which constitutes a positive list. This will now be
replaced by a negative list.
The secretary commerce stated that
both the countries would be required to
dismantle non-tariff barriers to move
towards normalisation of trade and explained that it was not something new
as both the countries had enjoyed MFN
status from 1947 to 1965 and signed
four agreements.

what is the future of europe? have they misdiagnosed the problem?
Can you really trust President obama and his low interest rate policy?
In a volatile market gripped with uncertainty, do you know where to invest?
with investment options in financial space drying, our market
expert shan saeed explores the treacherous web of
international finance, answering these questions, and more…

Investment strategies in tough times
‘TroPhy’ No 1: oIL

gLoBAL eCoNomIC ouTLook
Europe’s problems are not all over yet
europe has been thrust into a debilitating credit crunch
debacle. Tough times lie ahead for the eurozone. While
everyone is talking about Greece, the big elephant is Spain
whose GDP is estimated at $1.49 trillion. Greece fudged
the numbers so it could join the eU in the first place, courtesy Goldman Sachs. There’s only one word for what
Greece did; fraud. This severe misrepresentation
alone should give the rest of europe the chance to
simply kick Greece out of the eU, declare its debts
invalid, and end the emerging european credit
crunch in its tracks. In europe however it’s not
about the debt crisis; but rather the currency crisis.
The reasons are simple and straight forward. Let
us analyse the reasons one by one.

four Issues of euro sINgLe
CurreNCy CrIsIs
1. Gap in competitiveness between Northern
and Southern europe is growing. Productivity is down among euro zone members
2. Intra-eMU current account deficit has risen to a level
that requires correction
3. Monetary Integration is poisonous from the start.
4. euro currency is misaligned with various countries in euro zone
strategically. Now is it really making progress? europe is in a
messy situation and it is because of euro single currency since it
is historically flawed. Different countries with different culture/
monetary division cannot survive this issue.

CreATINg AN AuToNomous euroPe
You can’t resolve a disease if you don’t even understand what’s causing it.
Merkel’s comments are eerily similar to what everyone’s heard from Ben
Bernanke and Hank Paulson in 2008 when they misdiagnosed a household debt crisis as a banking crisis. europe must understand that this is a
currency crisis and that there is only one true fix – the creation of an autonomous europe. I think that can best be done via a split in the euro
(which would still require a central Treasury) or dissolution. I have said
there is a third option – a United States of europe. But I can’t expect them
to move in the right direction if they still think this is a banking and debt
crisis. That will simply lead to bank bailouts and the American disease of
bailing out banks without fixing the actual cause of the economic problem.

us govT AND ITs fALTerINg eCoNomIC PoLICIes
Does the US government hate people who save? That may be a little
over the top. But then again, what else is left for the Americans to believe when Ben Bernanke, with the full support of President Barack
Obama, drives down interest rates to
horrifically low levels? President
Obama has disappointed the
American people. Lack of
leadership, the first-ever
federal credit downgrade,
a failed debt deal, un-

employment nearing record levels, fresh warnings of a double-dip
recession, and the most toxic political climate in Washington’s history. Given this scenario can you really trust President
Obama? And, while he continues to be the mainstream media darling,
are you even getting the real story from sources you can trust? I asked
this question from many friends based in USA. Mostly said, they are
not happy with the government’s working. Confidence is lacking in the
US market - that is the main driver for the economy.

sTrATegIC fINANCIAL ANALysIs
Analysing the 3-months Treasury bills, recently paying out an actual rate
of 0.00%. In other words, the government is perfectly content paying
investors absolutely nothing for the privilege of taking and using investor’s money. And, Bernanke has already guaranteed that he will not
raise interest rates until 2013. In theory, these actions will stimulate the
economy. In reality, it certainly punishes those who are saving or looking
for income from their investments. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke has guided the central bank to “reckless,” inflationary policy
that is depressing the economy. The Fed has lowered its predictions for
GDP growth to 1.6-1.7 per cent this year from 2.7-2.9 per cent previously,
and to 2.5-2.9 per cent next year from 3.3-3.7 per cent previously. Some
people might call it over propaganda. I think the U.S. economy is getting
worse, and the Fed is constantly having to ratchet down its previous expectations. If data are more accurately reflected the amount of inflation
[11% according to Independent economists] that Ben Bernanke is creating, we can see that the real US economy is actually shrinking.

weALTh ProTeCTIoN for gLoBAL INvesTors
“Trophies” are enormously valuable caches of strategic minerals and
commodities. Because they’re so valuable, investors who own them
could watch their stakes rise by many multiples. And because commodities rise during periods of high inflation, these TROPHIeS are a
slam-dunk idea right now. But there are only handfuls that are “Trophy-worthy”. I’m talking about things like energy, precious metals, currency and food. China is busy hunting for the biggest trophies in these
categories. Why? Because they have more to lose from inflation than
anyone else. As I mentioned, China is sitting on at least a trillion U.S.
dollars ($1.14 trillion - according to IMF).
every time the U.S. Government prints
more dollars, China’s dollar holdings
become worth less. So they’re
pouring this cash into “TROPHIeS.” I was in New York in
August 2011 and talking to
Robert Kapito – President
Black Rock Assets managing
$3.6 trillion who shared his
strategy for his clients: 60% in
stocks, 20% in short term corporate bonds and 20% in commodities. How big investors
can get trophies to ensure that
they achieve piece of mind
with valued returns by investing in the following 5 trophy
investment option.

Global investors are aware of the
Athabascan oil basin in Alberta, Canada. It’s well documented. In
short, Canada has 175 billion barrels of recoverable oil trapped
in sand. This stuff doesn’t gush like a traditional oil well. It’s
more like clay or sludge. Extracting it is a messy, expensive
and time-consuming process. But with oil over $90 a
barrel, it’s well worth the hassle. Athabasca is a HUGE
“TROPHY.” Arguably the most valuable trophy asset of
any sort in the world for asset portfolio protection. While
it is second to Saudi Arabia in terms of oil reserves it is
much more valuable because it’s in friendly, stable Canada – not
the Middle East. Take position in Oil market as known oil reserves are
shrinking. But first, how could this “TROPHY” asset protect you against
inflation? Now, take a look at the chart of oil from the past 10 years: Oil –
is intrinsically valuable. There’s real demand for it. And there’s a real
shortage too. On its own merits, the price of oil is rising. Saudi Arabia is
quitting oil business in the next 10-years. Saudi Arabia is making huge
investment in SHALE GAS (The next revolution in the energy
market) amounting to $130 billion which is roughly 3-years Net
Income of Exxon Mobil. This investment is coming from the
Saudi Royal family. This is absolutely impressive. I really
admire the strategic leadership of the Saudi Royal family for
analysing this trend and maneuvering in the right direction as
the geo/political landscape is changing at a very rapid pace.
Most investment banks and hedge funds are placing massive
investment in shale gas companies. TIME Magazine has
reported on Shale Gas on April 11, 2011 issue and Financial
Times reported on May 8, 2011 about the growing
importance of Shale Gas globally.

‘TroPhy’ No 2: fooD

Investment in Food assets would quadruple investment value going forward. Rice/Sugar/Wheat/Corn are real trophy
assets. The United States is home to the most valuable food “Trophy” in the
world – the American Midwest. This is a huge chunk of fertile land, right in the
middle of the country. The Mississippi River runs right through it, giving producers easy transport access to the Gulf of Mexico. US farmland has skyrocketed – outpacing inflation by 58 per cent. In Iowa, for instance, farmland values
have risen 19.7 per cent in the past 6 months and 25.4 per cent this year alone.
In Kansas and Nebraska prices of farmland have jumped nearly as much. If
investors can refer to TIME magazine article dated 11th July 2011 titled ‘become a farmer’ by Stephen Gandel pages 36-38, it is an eye opener.

‘TroPhy’ No 3 goLD/sILver
My recent visit to New York took a very surprising and interesting turn,
when I visited a Chinese bank. Bank of China’s branch in New York was
accepting Yuan related deposits. Americans have been accusing Chinese
for manipulating its currency according to the Economist magazine Oct
11, 2011 issue. This perception is totally wrong about Chinese currency.
Jim Rogers—the commodity expert is taking positions in Chinese Yuan.
He shared his strategy when I met him in Singapore two months back.
This is a huge development in the currency market. I am bullish on
Chinese Yuan/Renminbi currency and have mentioned that on my blog
many times that this currency would become a real force in the global
currency market. Investors should position in currencies like Canadian
Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss France, Norwegian Krone, Brazilian Real,
South Korean Won and Singapore Dollar.

‘TroPhy’ No 4 DIvIDeND PAyINg sToCk fIrms
Investors should make their portfolio valuable by investing in dividend paying
stocks that provide protection against uncertain economic times. Dividend paying
stocks are like hedge against volatile equity market and wealth destruction. In
one-week alone from August 1-6, 2011, $3.17 trillion of wealth destruction took
place and wealthy investors saw their value going down. Some of the valuable
companies that protect and enhance asset portfolios include Unilever, Nestle,
Coke, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, P&G, Medtronic, General Mills, Cononoc
Philips, Aflac, Boeing to name a few. Investors that are in the accumulation phase
of their portfolio have the flexibility to seek high total returns from their
investments rather than requiring high current yields. I personally advise my
clients to analyse a mix of low, moderate, and high yielding investments.

‘TroPhy’ No 5 CurreNCy mArkeT — ChINese yuAN
My recent visit to New York took a very surprising and interesting turn, when I
visited a Chinese bank. Bank of China’s branch in New York was accepting
Yuan related deposits. Americans have been accusing Chinese for
manipulating its currency according to the Economist magazine Oct 11, 2011
issue. This perception is totally wrong about Chinese currency. Jim Rogers—
the commodity expert is taking positions in Chinese Yuan. He shared his
strategy when I met him in Singapore two months back. Investors should
position in currencies like Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss France,
Norwegian Krone, Brazilian Real, South Korean Won and Singapore Dollar.
Shan Saeed is a financial economist and commodity expert with 12
years of financial market experience. He has graduated from Booth
School of Business, University of Chicago, USA and IBA Karachi. He
blogs at www.economistshan.blogspot.com

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:30 AM Page 24

Monday, 07 November, 2011

eDitoRiAL

None so blind

A severe
liquidity crunch

I

T is noted with deep concern that
despite appeals from all quarters,
the government is just unwilling
step out of the money market,
resulting in a severe liquidity
crunch that continues to compromise all
efforts at stimulating growth. At present,
with central bank printing presses still in
overdrive, and the rupee at its weakest,
and exports nowhere near requisite
levels to leverage currency depreciation,
there is practically no way the easing
monetary environment can have any
positive effect save inducing increased
central borrowing.
It bears noting that Islamabad’s
recent ‘no’ to the Fund raised hopes of
focusing on indigenous growth, aimed
at increased productivity, revenue
collection and exports to move forward.
Yet within weeks it is apparent that the
government has no intention of freeing
bank credit to induce private sector
investment. Also, with reports of
finance ministry officials visiting IMF

offices again, it is becoming clear that
tax revenues cannot be raised in time,
nor exports enhanced enough to grow
on our own.
So long as liquidity is scarce,
economic activity will remain stagnant.
Inability to manage growth and ease
employment, at a time when official
policy is too weak to preempt food
inflation, is a sure recipe for disaster. The
last thing Pakistan needs is frustrated
masses taking to the streets to make the
government realise where its priorities
should lie. Much of its borrowings fund
non-productive expenditure. At a time
when it should effectively be in electionmode, its disregard for people’s most
basic concerns is startling. Now, there is
hardly any time for policy turns anymore.
It seems the fiscal’s end will bring the
same scenario of budget targets falling
horribly short. The people need change.
If it will not be delivered at policy level,
then it will be made to come at the
government level.

A just economic order

The MFN coin

The great divide between the rich and the
poor is escalating day by day especially in
the developing countries of South Asia.
The figures are alarming in the region as a
whole. We would have been able to make a
better analysis of the situation, if the
writer provided the figures of the poverty
rate of all the South Asian countries. Also,
the reference to the regional cooperation
between the countries should have been
given; for it is just a mere fabrication
which is not working in any capacity to
look into the matter of eradicating poverty
and social inequalities, which by any
means are one of the major problems existing in the region.

I really liked the coin analogy that
the writer brought into his article to
express the various sides of the
MFN debate. Both the pros and the
cons have their weight, and I for
one believe in a positive way of
thinking. Increasing commercial
ties could eventually result in the
ease of tension between India and
Pakistan, but of course India needs
to make a positive statement themselves after we have taken a strong
initiative. Also, we need to appreciate India’s growing economy and
hence enhancing trade is the way
forward for us, for India and for
South Asia as a whole.

AHMED MANSOOR

USMAN BUTT

KArACHI

lAHOre

Shahab Jafry

T

HeRe’S none so blind as those
who refuse to see, taught my financial markets mentor as he
warned of ‘the coming financial
crash’ (Khaleej Times, January 1,
2007) long before investment giant lehman brothers went belly up, sending the international financial system into a tailspin. Yet right up to the
credit crunch, market pundits continued to preach
and practice wall street’s new mantra, that steroid
shots of leverage into
speculative
investments, with risk priced
virtually at zero, underpinned unprecedented
financial growth, the
new century’s assured
capitalist nirvana.
The following market rout was a sobering
reminder that “every
boom contains the genesis of its own bust”.
But its aftermath also
proved that modern western democracy is incapable of catering to such crises. Politicians need
to bankroll campaigns, a tactical gap often filled
by corporates. In return, of course, for privileged
positions for their blue-eyed. Remember former
goldman sachs CeO Hank Paulson as treasury secretary? Little surprise, in hindsight, that his watch
saw the largest-ever bailout package, in response
to the greatest financial tsunami on record, directed to his wall street patrons whose moral hazard was at the heart of the great crash. In the
world’s strongest democracy, billions in taxpayer
money were deliberately channeled towards reckless institutions that had just caused the worst financial glut in main street history. Yet no manner
of public concern could shift the narrative to the
real economy. No bailout was engineered for manufacturing and industry. No fed presses printed
overtime to keep consumers solvent, the life and
blood of the modern economy. The change of
guard in Washington only brought more of the
same (QeII), with increasing sings of QeIII, the
rationale being the same. There is but one policy

Are the worlds of
international politics
and economics on the
verge of monumental
change?

Money talks but what walks?

Sakina Husain

W

HILe Marxism
may not be the
‘way’ for the day,
it is an ideal
framework for
understanding the inherent dynamics
under capitalism for those who are increasingly reminded of their importance
as mere ‘cogs’ (unless one wishes to
change the first alphabet). In simple
words, it tells you that labour pay is not
determined by the value of their production. Instead, compensation imparted is

a direct function of labour and their offspring’s sustenance needs. And, from
there emerges the concept of low wage
traps, which leads generations into cycles
of low productivity and most importantly
great discontentment.
Before transposing this discussion
onto the current remuneration dynamics,
it is important to highlight that in the development discourse, the predicaments
associated with unemployment and underdevelopment of skill renders the limelight miles away from the malaise that
affects youth from the middle class. These
are families who have spent fortunes on
acquiring private higher education only to
find out that there are very few willing to
provide monetary compensation for skill,
education and creativity. While there
would be many who would beg to differ,
most will also agree that the degree of
professionalism and employee worth differs across cities. Thus, fresh graduates
finding themselves in a city that lacks a

thriving job market would speak of woes
involving lower pays, exploitation and
generally lower hope regarding how the
future intends to reveal its colours.
Aside from the city factor, in the recent
economic downturn, rent seeking does not
seem to be characteristic of politicians only.
While owners and top management are
finding it extremely hard to part with the
smallest of earnings percentage, the toll of
lower demand and increasing infrastructure costs seems to have unfairly fallen
upon the salaried class, deprived of much
deserved raises bonuses, etc. How, may one
ask, can a person focus on being productive
when s/he is unable to make ends meet?
The answer as a corollary would clearly explain why it is in the interests of the top to
‘slave drive’ and for those at the bottom to
offer brandishing smiles with subservience
and servility. And might one belong to the
clan that states how it feels, then nay, the
world of the corporate aint for thee!
As a result, unofficial statistics reveal

shAhAB JAfry
Business editor

kuNwAr khuLDuNe shAhID
Sub-editor

BABur sAghIr
creative Head

ALI rIZvI
News editor

mAheeN syeD
Sub-editor

hAmmAD rAZA
Layout Designer

at play in the home of modern capitalism, save the
neoliberal financial system.
Strangely, the unwinding of the capitalist doctrine has also led to a collapse of the left, predominantly in europe. Political heavyweights long
associated with the moderate left are facing angry
agitations against themselves. In Greece, socialist
international president Papandreou is implementing harsh troika-prescribed austerity – privatisation, civil service cuts, etc. In Spain and Portugal,
public agitation against draconian cuts is directed
as much against their socialist governments as the
IMF. Far from producing an adequate response to
the crisis, as in the days before the fateful fall of
the Berlin Wall, the european left seems increasingly capitulating to the forces of neoliberalism,
sacrificing social equality for balanced budgets
even as the free market system enters its
endgame. Of course, it helps when ratings agencies immediately downgrade entire economies at
the first sign of a hard left turn. In europe, just as
in the US, regardless of the government in office,
policy focuses on preserving the economic order.
In both cases, the power structure is subservient to financial nerve centres, relying simply
on pumping more money into a hemorrhaging
system. Yet doing so reflects a failure to understand the evolution of a new paradigm. The rapid
growth of speculative finance spiked income disparities right across the economic north. The rush
to safeguard this structure has now led many to
revolt. First in europe, then in the US, public
opinion has swung sharply against quantitativeeasing-politics as people refuse to be subject to extreme austerity so banks are flush with liquidity
every time they crash the system. The intertwined
worlds of international politics and economics are
seemingly on the threshold of a new way of functioning. There will be no more miraculous money
making from non-productive speculation. And
there will definitely not be public funded giant
bailouts for reckless institutions whose negligence
has been repeatedly proved criminal. In resisting
this change, capitals on both side of the atlantic
only delay the day of reckoning, making eventual
default that much more painful, with spill-over
effects that much more profound. Years of throwing good money after bad has turned toxic institutional debt into existential sovereign
dilemmas. With the system not half-way solvent
enough, and people refusing to be milked further,
the immediate future can only bring systemic collapse. I feel an eerie echo of my mentor’s words
again as Washington and Berlin throw their lot
behind wall street dogma. There’s none so blind
as those who refuse to see.
The writer is Business Editor, Pakistan Today

in the recent economic
downturn, rent seeking
does not seem to be
characteristic of
politicians only

that more than seven
million Pakistani’s live
abroad and thousands
wait for the Almighty
that resides in developed nations to beckon
them somehow. Given
this entire lament, it is
interesting and very
ironic to state that the number of people
migrating into Pakistan versus those who
leave is much higher and has been growing over the years; the net migration rate
stood at negative 0.9 per 1000 population
in 2000 and has grown to negative 2.17 in
2011. Clearly, those who see a future in
this godforsaken country do not need to
be pointed out; they’re everywhere!
Needless to say, in Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs, self-actualisation just may be a
distant proposition for the population at
large. One day when studies will reveal
that investment is also a function of creative thought and processes, aside from

other well known factors, they will connect
the struggle and stress
related to survival with
a loss of creativity and
faith. If philosophy were
a core subject being
taught, many would understand why thinkers
are placed at such a high pedestal, to the
extent, that marriages between the highest
rung and the lowest, ie the bourgeoisie are
frowned upon. And if history were being
rampantly taught in the way that it should
be, many would know that it was the practice of the Church to gobble the biggest
scoop of the pie and ask the pie maker to
believe in the hereafter. Have we, quite literally, glided back?
The writer is an economic
researcher and freelance finance
journalist. She can be reached at
sakina.husain@gmail.com

india should oblige the commitment to
support pakistan in Wto to accomplish
gSp plus in european Union while
pakistan oﬀers MfN to india

news

25

kCCI President, Abdul majid

NTBs are under discussion: Indian HC
KARACHI

G

STAff rePOrT

OVeRNMeNT of India is discussing issues related to trade
with Pakistan especially the
list of Non-Tariff Barriers
(NTBs) presented by Pakistan.
This was said by Indian High Commissioner
Sharat Sabharwal addressing the members of
Karachi Chamber Of Commerce & Industry
(KCCI), during a meeting here on Saturday at
KCCI. He informed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s vision is to transform South
Asia with the cooperation of all neighbouring
countries of India, including Pakistan, the region moves from poverty to prosperity and
from ignorance to a knowledgeable society.
He said Indo-Pak Commerce Ministers in
their recent talks agreed to double bilateral
trade from the current level of $2.7 billion to
$6 billion as the first step and mandated to fur-

ther strengthen cooperation for a high ambition of preferential trade relations under the
framework of SAFTA.
Talking about the NTBS he said that Government of Pakistan has given the Non-Tariff
Barriers list which is under discussion. Some
perceived that Non-Tariff Barriers are regarding quality control and packing issues which
are uniform for all countries, he said.
Deliberations are underway to improve infrastructure of land routes and open trade from
the Monabao-Khokrapar border. Pakistan and
India have a bilateral visa regime based on reciprocity and the Indian interior ministry is
working on visa liberalisation, he said.
In his welcome address, he stated, “We at
KCCI, firmly believe that both countries will
have to demonstrate greater political will to
foster relations. It is the need of the hour that
both governments, besides opening new land
routes, should positively consider connecting
Mumbai with Karachi through air and sea

links. He said, “We at KCCI observe the present moves to forge closer commercial ties as
the biggest push ever for trade liberalisation
between India and Pakistan. The issue of
granting MFN to India needs to be realised as
an economic obligation instead of political
framework. India should come forward with an
open mind, to promote bilateral investment to
further strengthen the economic relations.
“India should oblige the commitment to
support Pakistan in WTO to accomplish GSP
Plus in european Union while Pakistan offers
MFN to India.” President KCCI said Karachi
and Mumbai, the third and the second largest
cities of the world respectively, share remarkable similarities. Foreign trade handled by
Karachi and Mumbai is estimated at around 90
and 40 per cent of their national volume, respectively. Both cities have huge, vibrant and
informal sectors that some estimates put at
about the size of the formal one. KCCI & the
Bombay chamber have already kicked off the

joint activities like issuing visa recommendation letters and exchange trade information to
facilitate their members and to bridge together
the business community of the two countries.
An Indian business delegation, led by the president of the Bombay chamber, is also expected
in the next month. We have also planned to organise an Indian Pavilion in the KCCI’s 9th
My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony exhibition
scheduled in July 2012, he added.
earlier, Chairman Businessmen Group
Siraj Kassam Teli appreciated the present
moves by Indo-Pak Governments for
strengthening commercial and economic
ties. He said that the Business & Industrial
Communities on both sides have high expectations and willingness to improve trade. He
was of the view that such similar hypes between two governments were made in the
past which were affected by some elements.
For recent developments, we urged both
governments to bring productive results and

He textile industry has faced
windfall gains in FY11, due to
the high cotton prices that led
to a turnaround in their margins, as per
the analysts. Textile is the largest industry in Pakistan and has the highest
listed companies (207 out of 638 firms
listed at KSe); even though in terms of
share trading their representation is
hardly five per cent.
“After compiling the full year results
of these listed textile companies, we
found out that the sector is trading at a
trailing Pe of 2x (excluding loss making
firms), 71 per cent discount to market Pe
of 7x,” said, Mohammed Millwala of Top
line Securities. He said that, “Our sample
is based on 147 companies that have an-

nounced their full year results representing 97 per cent of market capitalisation.”
Interestingly, the analyst said that, there
were 33 firms (35 per cent of profitable
companies) that were even trading
below their earnings i.e. Pe of less than
1x. Moreover, 32 per cent companies
were trading at Pe between 1-3x while 12
per cent are trading in the range of 3-7x.
“In spite of abnormal profits made by
textile firms, the market participants
seem aloof as the sector has underperformed the broader index by 19 per cent
in 2011YTD,” Millwala said. Adding this
was important, because investors’
doubts regarding future earnings, lack of
faith in management of the family controlled textile set ups and most importantly higher profits were not adequately
shared with minority shareholders.
He said that the concern in the

minds of investors was whether the
same earnings would be witnessed next
year? “We know that improvement in
earnings mainly attributable to rise in
cotton prices owing to a difference in
demand supply of the crop.”
However, the analyst said, with
global cotton crop production expected
to surpass the consumption after 7
years, it was expected that cotton prices
would fall gradually.
Thus, it would create a concern for
millers to realise inventory losses on
cotton inventories available with them.
Furthermore, as yarn prices had
moved in tandem with the change in its
raw form, the margins of spinning segment were expected to remain under
pressure in FY12. “Inventory losses
combined with higher input costs
would drive down the abnormal mar-

gins witnessed by textile mills in FY11,
resulting in a steep decline in earnings
as compared to last year,” he said.
The analyst claimed that majority
of textile sector was dominated by family business structure as opposed to formal corporate structure and the
investors were staying wary of investing
in such business as the management of
the company was being selected on
basis of kinship rather than capabilities.
“This result is the lack of faith in
company’s management and investors
do not trust the company with their
money.” The analyst said that the
shareholders expect return from a stock
in two ways, namely the dividend and
capital gain. “In last few years, it is generally seen that most of the textile companies remained shy in distributing
payouts,” he said.

also focus on political and other issues to resolve amicably. He demanded that while
defining parameters and before taking decisions, the enlightened business community
leaders of both countries must be consulted
to avoid any adverse decisions with respect
to trade. He said that the Bombay-Karachi
Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry will
act as the driving force to strengthen the
trade ties. He was of the view that the Business Community of Pakistan would avail
more benefits from huge Indian market as
compared to its counterpart.
Commercial and economic Counsellor
Arvind Saxcna, First Secretary (Consular
& Visa) Acquino Vimal, High Commission
of India in Islamabad, ex-Presidents
Anjum Nisar, Majyd Aziz, Senior Vice
President KCCI Younus Muhammad
Bashir, Vice President Zia Ahmed Khan
and Managing Committee Members also
participated in the meeting.

RADING in the shares of over a dozen
companies listed at the Karachi Stock
exchange (KSe) has been suspended. At
least 13 companies from various sectors, like
textile, mutual fund, insurance, dairies, leasing
etc have been under fire since September for not
complying with the orders of the KSe
management. AI-Mel Securities and Services
Limited, Unity Moderabe, Inveetec Securities
Limited, First lnvestec Modereba, Usmen Textile
Mills Limited, Delta Insurance Company Limited,
Sterling Insurance Company Limited, Pakistan
Guarantee Insurance Company Limited, Adil
Polypropyl-ene Products Limited, Adil Textile
Mills Limited, National Asset Leasing
Corporation Limited, Inter Asia Leasing Company
Limited and UQAB Breeding Farms Limited are
the firms whose shares would not be traded for
further 60 days. “The companies have not so far
removed the cause of suspension of trading in
their shares, the Karachi Stock exchange in the
interest of trade and public has decided that

At least 13 companies
from various sectors, like
textile, mutual fund,
insurance, dairies, leasing
etc have been under fire
since september for not
complying with the orders
of the kse management
trading in the shares of these companies shall be
kept suspended for a further period of 60 days,”
said the KSe notices issued separately to the
defiant firms. The KSe has taken action against
the companies under Listing Regulation No 5(2)
(ii) and Section 9(7) of the Securities and
exchange Ordinance, 1969. Through issuing
notices numbering KSe/N-6102, -6103, -6104, 6105, -6106, 6107 and -6108, the authorities at
the country’s largest bourse asked the said firms
to remove the cause of suspension in the trading
of their shares in compliance with the relevant
rules. The KSe management has extended their
suspension period for a further two-months to
take effect verily from November 6, 7, 9, 11, 13
and 14 or until such time as the cause of
suspension is removed. Such suspensions are
likely to reflect adversely on the volume of traded
shares at the already volumes-starved Karachi
bourse that, the analysts fear, was nearing to lose
its title of being Asia’s most liquid stocks market.

SSGC working with World
Bank on $200 million project
registers net profit of rs4.724 trillion for fy11 against rs4.399tln of fy10
g shareholders entitled to 25per cent cash dividend, 5 per cent bonus shares
g Non-payment of rs32b dues by kesC forces company to seek bank loans
g

KARACHI

T

STAff rePOrT

He Sui Southeren Gas
Company (SSGC), in
line with its five-year
development plan, is
working on a $200
million Natural Gas efficiency project in collaboration with the World
Bank to reduce the company’s Unaccounted for Gas (UFG) losses.
The project would bring about a
phased reduction in the UFG losses
over a five-year period by rehabilitating 5,000kms of aging pipelines.
Also, the SSGC has registered a
net profit of Rs4,724 billion for FY
2010-11 against Rs4,399 billion of
FY 2009-10. The company has declared a 25 per cent cash dividend
and 5 per cent bonus shares for its
shareholders.
Addressing the 57th Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of SSGC,
under the chairmanship of Chairman, Salim Abbas Jilani, the company’s Managing Director, Azim

Iqbal Siddiqui told the shareholders
that the company was working on a
development plan.
He said that a $200 million Natural Gas efficiency project had been
formulated in cognisance with the
World Bank that would bring about a
phased reduction in UFG losses over
a five-year period by rehabilitating
5,000kms of aging pipelines. Furthermore, the MD said, the distribution
network in the biggest gas consuming
centre in the city had been bifurcated
in three operational regions on the
basis of its natural geographical
boundaries. “This strategy has started
showing results in quantifying UFG
levels with respect to sale and purchase volumes,” said Siddiqui.
Attended by the company directors, senior management and a large
number of shareholders, the AGM
approved the financial statements
along with the Auditors’ Report for
the financial year ending June 30.
The AGM approved the payment of 25 per cent cash dividend
and 5 per cent bonus shares to the

shareholders.
During FY 2010-11, the company registered a net profit of
Rs4,724 billion against Rs4,399 billion in FY 2009-10. These impressive numbers won tremendous
appreciation from the shareholders
who expressed their utmost confidence in the company’s management by lauding its proactive role in
increasing the net profitability by
the steps it is undertaking to bridge
the widening imbalance of demand
and supply of natural gas.
The chairman and the managing
director responded to the queries
raised by the shareholders. They informed the house that a number of
progressive steps have been undertaken such as, the fast track import
of LNG through a third party regime
which will bring in 1.4 billion cubic
feet gas by 2012.
Shareholders were also informed
that SSGC has acquired Pro gas LPG
plant that would not only provide
additional gas to the far flung areas,
where gas distribution through con-

Dr Asim assures four
days a week gas supply
to textile industry
Number of measures taken to streamline gas supply
g uninterrupted gas supply soon be extended to five days a week
g

LAHORE
STAff rePOrT

F

eDeRAL Minister for
Petroleum and Natural
Resources, Dr Asim Hussain has assured four days a
week uninterrupted gas supply
to the textile industry in Punjab
during winters, which may further be enhanced to five days a
week with the entry of
200MMCFD in the system
sooner than later.
He was talking to the APTMA
members at the APTMA Punjab
office along with group leader
Gohar ejaz. Chairman APTMA,
Mohsin Aziz participated in the
meeting through a video conference from Peshawar.
The Federal Minister said
that he has asked the ANV companies (working on exploration
of gas) to increase production
up to 200MMCFD for three
months to meet gas shortage for
textile industry during winter.
It may be noted that the textile industry in Punjab had
strong apprehensions of 90 days

gas supply cut during winter.
However, the minister dispelled
the impression and made clear
that the four days a week gas
supply would continue uninterrupted, followed by five days a
week gas supply accordingly.
He said that a number of
measures including, gas infrastructure surcharge, gas theft act,
levy on domestic LPG and end of
price distortion have been taken
to streamline gas supply to the
consumers, particularly the textile
industry. The federal minister also
stated categorically that the CNG
stations are proving a burden on
industrial growth as they are consuming textile industry gas.
According
to
him,
500MMCFD shale gas would be
part of the system within two
years in result of further explorations. Dr Asim said that he
would be in a position to share
good news with the nation about
new gas explorations in Sindh
within the next 10 days.
He said the system was producing 29 trillion MMCFD gas
at present, having a potential of

26

79 trillion MMCFD in future.
earlier, Chairman APTMA
Mohsin Aziz highlighted the role
of textile industry in Pakistan
economy in his welcome address. He said that Punjab was
the house of 60% of the textile
industry and any gas curtailment would end up on joblessness,
followed
by
socio-economic problems. Rana
Arif Tauseef from Pakistan Textile exports Association proposed to the minister for gas
supply for processing units on
quota basis in order to run generators on gas. He said that the
processors would shift boilers to
alternate fuel during winter gas
load management plan.
Group leader APTMA, Gohar
ejaz urged the APTMA members
to give a standing ovation to the
federal minister. He said that the
industry was looking forward to
the government to keep its operations intact during next three
months. Shahzad Ali Khan,
Chairman energy Committee
APTMA, paid vote of thanks on
the occasion.

ventional pipelines is not cost-effective, but will also allow for diverting
natural gas to the industry.
The MD acknowledged two
major issues. Firstly, in view of the
mounting receivables from KeSC
which have touched a massive figure
of Rs32 billion, the management is
proactively working to negotiate a
Gas Sales Agreement that would
help in the recovery of new bills. The
chairman added that KeSC’s receivables issue was a major sore point
for the company, compelling it to
borrow from bank at higher rates.
The other issue of overstaffing which
occurred due to the reinstatement of
some 2,500 employees through
Presidential Ordinance in 2009 had
been resolved by effectively utilising
these reinstated employees in different functional areas through proper
training and skill development.
Members of SSGC’s Board of Directors including, Ahmed Bakhsh
Lehri, Fazal-ur-Rehman Dittu, Nessar Ahmed, Aurangzeb Ali Naqvi,
Mirza Mahmood Ahmad, Ayaz Dawood, Azhar Maud, Zubair Habib,
Syed Hassan Nawab, DMD (Operations), Zuhair Siddiqui, DMD (Corporate Services), SGMs, GMs, DGMs
and other officials were also present
at the AGM.

seCP registers
257 companies
during october
KARACHI
STAff rePOrT

D

URING the month of October 2011,
the Securities and exchange
Commission of Pakistan (SeCP)
registered 257 new companies. Private
companies (244) have the highest share in
new incorporation followed by 11 single
member companies, one not-for-profit
association and a foreign company from the
UK in the fuel and energy sector. Foreign
investment by US nationals was made in a
new local company in the power generation
sector. The sector-wise position reveals that
36 new companies were incorporated in the
trading sector, followed by information
technology (27), services (24), transport
(21), Hajj and Umrah Services (16), food
and beverages (14), construction (10) and
power generation (10). Seven companies
each were incorporated in the textile,
pharmaceuticals and corporate agricultural
farming sectors, 6 companies each in the
education and chemical sectors, while 5
companies each in the tourism, fuel and
energy and communications sectors. eighty
five companies were registered in Lahore
followed by Karachi (82) and Islamabad
(61). 12, 8, 7 and 2 companies were
registered in Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad
and Quetta, respectively. The authorised
capital and paid up capital of companies
incorporated in October 2011 is Rs1.58
billion and Rs298.47 million, respectively.
During the month, 23 companies increased
their authorised capital with the aggregate
authorised capital increment of Rs10.98
billion and 57 companies raised their paid
up capital with the total paid up capital
increment amounting to Rs6.9 billion.

khurrum sayeed hails
the grant of mfN status to India
KaraChI: executive
Committee Member IndiaPakistan Chamber of
Commerce, Mr Khurram
Sayeed, Senior ViceChairman Petroleum
Standing Committee of
FPCCI and Chief executive
Planet Petrochemicals
welcomed the proposal of
granting MFN status to
India. He thanked the
Prime Minister for his
commendable decision and
also appreciated the role
played by the Commerce Minister and the Secretary
Commerce and his team for their untiring efforts to
liberalise trade with India. He also thanked the Indian
Commerce Minister and his team for their positive
role and for their support to Pakistan at WTO. He said
that this will lead to bi-lateral investment and will
create much needed employment opportunities in
Pakistan. PreSS releASe

moL Pakistan supports flood
aﬀected districts of Pakistan
KaraChI: MOL Pakistan, the member of oil and
gas giant MOL Group, handed over the consignment
of relief items worth US $50,000 in order to help the
flood affected districts of Tando Muhammad Khan
and Sanghar. The supplies were handed over to the
DCO's of district administration of Tando Muhammad
Khan and Sanghar. Officials of MOL Pakistan were
also present on the occasion. This is not the first time
when MOL Pakistan has given a helping hand in the
time of need. Managing Director of MOL Pakistan, Mr
erno Liptak in his message on the occasion said “MOL
Pakistan is committed to help the people of Pakistan
in need and that it is fully aware of the difficulties
faced by the people of Sindh.” PreSS releASe

emirates, reports half year profits of
Dhs827 million despite global challenges
KaraChI: emirates airline produced a net profit
of Dhs827 million (US $225 million), for the first six
months of its current financial year ending 30th
September 2011. In addition, the company’s revenue
has increased steadily by 20 per cent per annum
over the same time period resulting in a record 23
years of profitability, unmatched by any other
airline. Since 2004, when emirates acquired its first
long-haul wide-body aircraft, allowing for much
broader global expansion, the airline has opened 39
new outstations and now flies to 115 destinations in
67 countries. PreSS releASe

perhaps there was a bit of wait-andsee and the idea that investors are
more comfortable not doing
anything today, and waiting for the
(Mf global) dynamic to play itself out

Markets

erik gebhard
weekly review

Index bounces back with
OGDC leading the pack
g

g

g

g

Bulls storm kfe with 307
point gain
Bull-run well supported by oil
and gas exploration
Bull-run inspires gains in
frontline stocks
165 advance, 83 declined and
85 remained unchanged out
of 333 scrips

g

g
g

g

g

g

KARACHI

T

STAff rePOrT

He benchmark performance was fairly impressive in the outgoing week as the index
gained around 3.52 per cent. The index
heavy weight OGDC came back strongly
with a Rs14.28/share gain adding approximately 299
points of the total week gain of 396 points. The upwards movement in Oil sectors stock can be attributed to expectation of circular debt resolution.
During the week inflation numbers were released
where MoM inflation was up by 1.44 per cent while
year to date inflation comes to around 11.34 per cent.
We believe the pre-eid season and flood impacted
the inflation numbers, said Bilal Asif at HMFS,
adding that we estimate year end inflation to be
around 12.5 per cent, hence SBP may not be able to
cut the DR in the upcoming monetary policy.
On the positive side, LSM growth was fairly

impressive, but concerns over exports and current
account situation remain critical. During the current fiscal year, around USD2billion payment to
IMF may impact our reserve and current account
status. Fertiliser stocks backed by frequent price
hike remain in the limelight, Oil stock were in active mood backed by possible resolution of circular
debt. But we believe the current resolution would
be temporary, hence circular debt may one again
occur going forward.
moNThLy revIeW: INDeX BaND oF 1,000
poINTS DepICT voLaTILITy: The benchmark
was moving in a wavy pattern moving in a band of
1,000 points. Single day in the preceding 4 weeks of
the month dominated the week. The surprise DR cut
of 150bps taking the cumulative YTD DR cut to
200bps can be considered as a sentiment booster,
but the impact didn’t last long. HUBC’s one time
sell-off of 140mn shares impacted overall volumes
positively while having the opposite effect on FIPS

numbers and the share price of the stock. The overall
average daily volume for the month jumped to
81.42mn shares and if we exclude HUBCO’s 140mn
shares, average daily volume for the month tones
down to 74.42mn shares depicting a mere improvement of 3.7 per cent MoM.
Furthermore fertiliser stocks remain in the limelight as Fatima price appreciated by 40.7 per cent
followed by FFC 19.5 per cent on account of frequent
upward adjustment in Urea prices. Quarterly Results
of OGDC, PSO, UBL, FFC, LUCK and FFBL results
were fairly impressive. But most of the above mentioned stocks were unable to present the same kind
of trend in the share price appreciation.
T-BILL aUCTIoN: During the week SBP conducted T-bill auction raising Rs 293billion including
NCBs against the target of Rs 215billion as Cut-off
yield on 6 months paper witnessed the highest rate
cut of 11bps to 11.81 per cent followed by 3 month
paper which was lowered by 9bps to 11.78 per cent

while rates on 12 months paper was slashed by 6bps
to 11.88 per cent. It is pertinent to note that recent
attrition in primary yields have lowered rates on 12
months paper by 200bps since the peak of 13.91 per
cent touched in the beginning of fiscal year. Furthermore, CPI for the month of October landed at 10.96
per cent YoY, depicting increase of 1.4 per cent MoM
basis. Inflation during October was largely driven by
increase in prices of food essentials and non-alcoholic beverages.
Government borrowing for budgetary support
has swelled by Rs280 billion to Rs2.9 trillion for the
week ending on October 21, 2011, whilst money supply accretion remains negative at 0.18 per cent on a
FY12TD basis. Despite widening rate differentials
and looming debt payment, targeted intervention by
central bank has also arrested depreciation of Pakistani Rupee against green back to 0.96 per cent
since the beginning of fiscal year from 1.8 per cent
at the end of 1QFY11.

OLD fell on
Friday in one
of the quietest trading
day, as the metal
tracked riskier assets on
fresh worries about the
euro zone bailout fund
and a mildly encouraging US nonfarm payrolls
report. Bullion came
under pressure on market
frustrations that the euro
zone won verbal support but no
new money at a Friday’s G20 summit for its tortured efforts to overcome a sovereign debt crisis. The
metal — a traditional safe haven
which has recently taken to tracking
riskier assets — fell with US equities

after data showed US hiring slowed in
October but the unemployment rate
also fell, pointing to some improvement in the still-weak labor market.
Gold was also pressured as commodity brokers raced to finish transferring
thousands of customers of bankrupt
rival MF Global, shifting their attention to the delicate task of ensuring
new clients’ margins are topped by
next week. “Perhaps there was a bit of
wait-and-see and the idea that investors are more comfortable not
doing anything today, and waiting for
the (MF Global) dynamic to play itself
out,” said erik Gebhard, principal at
futures broker Altavest. Spot gold fell
0.4 percent to $1,754.89 an ounce by
3:18 p.m. eDT. US gold futures for
December delivery settled down $9 at
$1,756.10 an ounce. US futures trading volume was less than 88,000 lots
by 3:20 p.m., Reuters data showed,

set to be the top three lowest daily
volume in 2011. Traders cited the demise of now-defunct commodities
broker MF Global for weak turnover
in gold futures.
Following a court order on Wednesday, the MF Global trustee has
worked with the CMe Group (CMe.O)
and a handful of other mostly independent futures commission merchants (FCMs) to move the bankrupt
broker’s 50,000 or so commodity accounts in bulk to new clearing firms,
along with 60 percent of collateral.
The metal, however, posted its second
consecutive weekly gain, helped
by renewed safe-haven buying amid
uncertainty to the future of the european Union.
“We are holding technical support at
the 25-percent Fibonacci retracement
at $1,747 an ounce. Risk is coming off
because some people think everything

is going to be fine, and others who
think gold is going to explode next
week,” said COMeX gold options floor
trader Jonathan Jossen. The gold
market will closely monitor news out
of the G20 meeting this weekend.
Leaders of the world’s major
economies told europe to sort out its
own problems and deferred until next
year any move to provide more crisisfighting resources to the International
Monetary Fund.
Silver was down 1.2 percent at $34.05
an ounce. The silver market largely ignored an update from the US futures
regulator about its continuing investigations onto possible unlawful
acts or manipulation in silver
markets in a probe that began more
than three years ago.
Platinum was off 0.3 percent to
$1,628.74 an ounce and palladium
was up 0.2 percent at $653.75.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:30 AM Page 28

Monday,
07 November,
2011

analysis

28
Pakistan: Failing
economy, failed state?
I

MAHA KHAN PHILLIPS

N the wake of the killing of Osama bin-Laden
five months ago, Pakistan increasingly appears
to be a country on the brink. The daring raid by
US Navy Seals on Pakistani territory has fueled
public opposition to the war on terror. The ability of
the government to control the country appears shakier
than ever, with terrorist attacks on the rise and ethnic
violence besieging the economic capital of Karachi.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington hit a
new low following the damning accusation last month
by Admiral Mike Mullen that Pakistan’s Inter-Services
Intelligence agency had provided support to the
Haqqani terrorist group that attacked the US embassy
in Afghanistan.

weAk eCoNomy, DysfuNCTIoNAL PoLITy
As daunting as the political and security risks are, Pakistan’s economic problems are every bit as bad. Growth
has slowed to a crawl in recent years, unemployment
and inflation are both high and rising, and investment
has plunged to a 40-year low. Fully 60 per cent of the
country’s 187 million people are getting by on less than
$2 a day. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gilani have done little to combat the country’s endemic corruption. external support to help Pakistan deal with its problems is drying up. Last year the
International Monetary Fund halted payments to Pakistan under an $11 billion economic stabilisation program because of the government’s failure to cut its
deficit and pursue economic reforms. The danger is
that the weak economy and dysfunctional political system will feed on each other, with corruption and mismanagement fostering stagnation and poverty that, in
turn, fuel more extremism. It’s no wonder analysts talk
of Pakistan as a failed state. “There are three key, fundamental issues on which economic development and
foreign direct investment in any country are based,”
says Saad Amanullah Khan, vice president of the
American Business Council of Pakistan, a chamber of
US businesses and one of the largest groups of singlecountry overseas investors. “They are consistency of
government policy, infrastructure availability and general law and order. Unfortunately, all three have gone
down in the past four years.” Daniel Wagner, chief executive of Country Risk Solutions, a US political and
economic consulting firm, is even more blunt, arguing
that the government has lost control over its borders.
“My perspective on Pakistan is that it does not have to
worry about becoming a failed state because it already
is a failed state,” he says.

rICh DIvIDeNDs
The current situation is a far cry from the halcyon days
in the middle of the past decade, when a technocratic
government led by Shaukat Aziz succeeded in reviving
the economy — and hopes for a better future. Aziz, a former Citibank executive, was drafted as finance minister
by General Pervez Musharraf after a military coup in
1999. Both men promised to root out corruption and
provide the fiscal discipline and stability for economic
growth. Musharraf’s decision to stand with the US in its
war on terror after the attacks of September 11, 2001,
also paid rich dividends. Western governments agreed
to write off $1.7 billion of the country’s debt and
reschedule a further $12.5 billion, easing Pakistan’s debt
service burden, while Washington stepped up economic
and military aid. The results were impressive. Pakistan’s
economy grew at an average rate of just over 7.25 per
cent a year between 2004 and 2007, according to the
IMF. exports nearly doubled, as did foreign exchange
reserves. The government embarked on a privatisation
campaign, helping the country attract $8.4 billion in
badly needed foreign direct investment. The ultimate
seal of approval, seemingly, came in 2005 when Goldman Sachs Group named Pakistan as one of its “next 11”
emerging markets, a group that the bank asserted would
follow the BRIC nations to become among the leading
economic powers of the 21st century. Instead of capitalizing on the good times, however, Pakistan reverted to
its old ways. Aziz, who served as prime minister from
2004 to 2007, did little to develop the country’s infrastructure or reduce costly subsidies. Political instability
accelerated the economic downturn. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto returned from exile in 2007 to lead
her Pakistan Peoples Party in parliamentary elections,
only to be assassinated at a political rally in December
of that year. President Musharraf declared a state of
emergency, then resigned and went into exile in 2008

after the PPP and its rival, the Pakistan Muslim League,
called for his impeachment. Bhutto’s widower, Zardari,
was elected president in September 2008, but his government has done little to stem the decline. economic
growth will average just under three per cent a year between 2008 and 2011, according to IMF figures, while
India has grown at an annual rate of nearly 7.75 per cent
over that period. Investment slumped to 13.4 per cent
of GDP in the 2010–’11 fiscal year from a peak of 22.5
per cent just four years earlier. With inflation running
at an official rate of 14 per cent and food prices soaring,
employers say some blue-collar workers are asking to be
paid in wheat instead of money.

fuNDeD reLIef
Pakistan agreed to an IMF stabilisation program in 2008
and has drawn nearly $8 billion in loans. The Fund also
provided an additional $478 million in emergency aid
last year after floods devastated a fifth of the country’s
territory. The IMF has suspended further loans, however,
because of the government’s failure to rein in its deficit,
expand the country’s notoriously porous tax base and
shrink bloated state-owned companies. “Pakistan needs
to focus on growth and reduce poverty and raise employment levels,” says Adnan Mazarei, IMF mission chief for
Pakistan. “For that you need improved institutions and
hopefully an improvement in security, which is not entirely in the hands of the government.” Zardari is known
in the country as “Mr 10 Per cent” because of allegations
that he took kickbacks when his wife was in power. Criminal charges against him for corruption, money laundering and murder were dropped as part of a 2007
agreement with Musharraf that enabled Zardari and
Bhutto to return from exile. The president has been accused of cronyism for surrounding himself with a kitchen
cabinet of politicians with dubious credentials. Babar
Awan, a PPP heavyweight who once served as minister
of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, claimed to
hold a doctorate degree from Monticello University in
the US, but that “school” turned out to be an unaccredited diploma mill that was fined and ordered to stop offering degrees by a Hawaii court. “These guys have no
qualifications. They have fake degrees and don’t do anything for the country,” says one Karachi-based chief executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Why are
they in these positions of power? Because they are yes
men, high school friends of Zardari’s.”

PATroNAge oPPorTuNITIes
Zardari has appointed a number of credible professionals to key economic and financial posts, but none of
them has managed to stay in his job for very long.
Within the past year first Salim Raza and then Shahid
Kardar resigned as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank. Shaukat Tarin resigned as finance minister in 2010 and was replaced by Hafeez
Shaikh, a Boston University–trained economist who
had worked at the World Bank in the 1990s and served
as privatisation minister under Musharraf. Insiders say
the technocrats are frustrated. Tarin, for instance,
drafted a nine-point plan to boost the economy, including tax reforms and infrastructure development, only
to resign when the government disregarded his proposals. Kardar has refused to comment publicly on his resignation, but he made his views clear in a newspaper
column, contending that the government needs to privatise state companies to increase efficiency and combat corruption and cronyism. He accused politicians
and bureaucrats of blocking privatisation “because of
the resulting reduced opportunities for patronage or
earnings.” The stagnant economy provides a fertile environment for growing militancy. Without schools, parents turn to madrassas, or religious institutions, to
provide instruction and food to their children. Finance
minister Shaikh acknowledges concerns about political
resistance to reform but insists that the government has
taken some positive steps, including measures to expand the tax base, freeze expenditures and deregulate
oil prices. “I am a great believer in Pakistan’s future,”
he says. “Its geographic location, its abundance of natural resources and underexploited potential make it a
serious candidate for doing well in the medium term.”
Business executives say other government actions are
more telling. In January, for example, Dubai-based
Abraaj Capital, which had acquired a controlling stake
in Karachi electric Supply Co in 2009, decided to cut
4,500 workers in a bid to increase efficiency. The workers attacked the utility’s offices, trapping management
inside, and destroyed parked cars. One employee held

We’ve been talking about raising
tax revenues for the last 64 years,
and every year there are these
completely unrealistic targets which
are bandied about in the budget

Adnan Aziz Ahmed

up a sign that said, “Do not force us to become suicide
bomber.” Under pressure from unions, the government
intervened and prodded the company to reinstate the
workers. Business executives rolled their eyes.
“The government backed the unions publicly. Just
look at the signal that sends out,” says Muddassar
Malik, chief executive of BMA Capital Management, a
Karachi-based fund management firm.

hIgh ProfILe TAx evAsIoN
The government has also demonstrated little willingness to back the efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue
to increase the tax take. Pakistan has one of the lowest
income tax rates in the world at about 10 per cent, and
the government has said it is committed to increasing
revenue. However, senior members of the government,
including Prime Minister Gilani, Punjab Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rehman Malik
are among those who did not pay a penny in income tax
between 2004 and 2007, according to a report in a local
newspaper. “We’ve been talking about raising tax revenues for the last 64 years, and every year there are
these completely unrealistic targets which are bandied
about in the budget,” says Adnan Aziz Ahmed, managing partner of Alpha Capital Partners in London and
former economic adviser to Benazir Bhutto. Notwithstanding their frustration with the government, business leaders insist that Pakistan still has great potential.
“We’ve had war, we’ve had natural disasters, and we are
in a time when Pakistan’s export markets are in a recession,” says BMA Capital’s Malik. “It’s remarkable that
the economy has actually grown and not gone into a
tailspin.” Remittances from Pakistanis working abroad,
especially in the oil-rich Gulf, have helped. Those funds
quadrupled in eight years to reach $7 billion, or 4.2 per
cent of GDP, in 2008, according to the IMF. “We’ve
been lucky in the sense that agricultural commodities
picked up last year and we got compensated,” says
Nasim Beg, chief executive of Arif Habib Investments,
one of the country’s largest asset management companies. “There is no serious pressure on the currency. The
stock market is doing well on the back of good earnings
of listed companies and also sustained growth.”

CuLTs of PersoNALITy
Another bright sign is the fact that the asset management industry continues to grow, albeit from a low
level. Between 2001 and 2010 the number of investment funds in Pakistan grew to 135 from 38 and
their combined assets rose to $2.3 billion from $331
million, according to BMA Capital. Pension funds’
assets grew by 48 per cent in 2010, driven largely by
the performance of the Karachi stock market. Those
gains could easily go out the window, though. In
Karachi, the commercial hub that generates 80 per
cent of the country’s economic growth, ethnic violence has left more than 100 people dead in recent
weeks. The city’s deteriorating security, a symptom
of Pakistan’s growing instability, could be the last
straw for the economy. The ethnic violence is occurring partly along political lines. The Muttahida
Quami Movement (MQM), which represents Mohajirs, or immigrants, who came to Pakistan after the
partition of India in 1947, is in conflict with the
Awami National Party (ANP), which represents the
Pashtun community that has moved more recently
from the north of the country to Karachi. The PPP
has its own activists who are involved in the fighting.
Gangs and drug cartels have added themselves to the
mix, allying with different political groups. The fact
that the ANP is part of the PPP’s governing coalition,
and that the MQM has gone in and out of the coalition several times in recent months, helps explain
the government’s dysfunction. The main opposition
power, the Pakistan Muslim League, led by former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif, offers no credible
power-sharing alternative or much in the way of an
economic policy. Instead, all the parties rely on cults
of personality. every campaign poster for the PPP
has Zardari’s face as well as those of his murdered
wife and her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former
prime minister who was executed in 1979 after a
coup by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Bringing
order to such a turbulent political environment is
daunting. Politicians should heed the advice of
James Carville, the campaign strategist to former
president Bill Clinton: It’s the economy, stupid.
This article first appeared in Institutional Investor

CurrenCy Market FoCus

It’s still about
europe

T

SHAHAB JAFRY

HeRe is something
fundamentally wrong in europe if
the eCB follows a three per cent
inflation announcement with a 25
percentage point cut. The hype of the
previous week’s euro summit got the wind
knocked out of it as central banks departed
from market expectations, the fed holding
steady despite “significant downside risks”
and Draghi cutting at his first conclave
amid “mild recession” expectations. More
importantly, unanimity in the euro
decision betrays real recessionary fears
across europe, with Bundesbank hawks
also softening opposition, probably
banking on inflation fizzling out with
slowdown growth.
The euro’s week-long drop from 1.4170 to
1.3789 speaks of more than just the
paralysis in Greece. It has never been
about saving Greece, a standpoint gaining
currency with the spread of anti wall street
and anti austerity dissent across the world.
europe’s financial elite remains obsessed
with preventing a violent unwinding of its
leading banks, with heavy exposure to
distressed PIGS economies. Hence the
complementing downward pressure on
cable, with British banks likely to figure
prominently in any potential domino effect
featuring hemorrhaging european
financial institutions.
The landmark euro summit failed to bid
the single currency to the significant
1.4250 resistance, but the call to short was
spot on. Watch for more weakness as the
debt drama spreads. Papandreou may have
survived the confidence vote, but the seat
of government in Athens is no longer
significant. All decision-making has moved
to the troika, and any subsequent coalition
will face the same problems, and the same
public resistance to austerity. The eCB’s
refusal to remain ‘lender of last resort’, the
IMF’s inability to generate consensus on
increased funding, Draghi’s surprise rate
cut, incrased rioting across the continent,
rumours of Germans printing deutsche
marks, all combine to deliver the kiss of
death to the euro. Stay committed to the
long-term short. Failing a game-changer,
the euro does not have much life left.
Finally, the collapse of the G-20 summit
and fears of further risk aversion and safe
haven trading pushed the Japanese to
intervene, strengthening the dollar almost
five per cent on Oct 31. Already,
scrambling from crisis to crisis, pundits
have seemingly lost sight of the harm
recessionary tendencies in europe and the
US are doing to the currency market. If
weakness in suffering economies
pressuring currencies of more stable ones
wasn’t bad enough, interventionist
positions are setting precedents that will
ultimately result in currency rigidities. The
Japanese and Swiss both came under
intense pressure from export lobbies, and
following both interventions, the
greenback is the only safe haven refuge
left. That makes for more complications
with US unemployment easing, albeit only
slightly, major markets ending lower
despite the eCB rate cut, and US ISM still
above 50, although slightly below
expectations. This is no time to trade the
yen, franc or cable, except in sharp,
targeted, intra-day adventures.
Commodity currencies, too, have begun
losing confidence in the turnaround
narrative, with the Aussie dollar recording
its first weekly fall since September as the
country’s central bank cut its key interest
rate by a quarter of a per cent. As noted
repeatedly, windows of risk appetite have
become increasingly short-lived, and
weekly trading will reflect a resumption of
the epic battle of uglies, with prudent
shorts eyeing weakest links providing the
most gains for eager traders. europe will
dictate currency market movements for the
foreseeable future.

Profit 01-11-2011_Layout 1 11/7/2011 12:30 AM Page 29

Monday, 7 November, 2011

29

Pakistan eyes health certificate from IMF
g

Positive letter of assessment from the fund will allow $2 billion from World Bank, ADB
ISLAMABAD

A

AMer SIAl

FTeR resolving the circular
debt, expediting power sector
reforms and restructuring
state-owned entities, the government is hopeful of getting
a “certificate of health” for its macroeconomic framework from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) at the upcoming
talks under the consultations in Dubai
from November 9 to November 17.
An official source said the government
had nearly implemented all its commitments to the IMF on reforms and hopefully
the fund would issue a letter of assessment
to the international financial institutions
and other donors, who could then provide
financial assistance to the country.
The economic team would be leaving
for Dubai after eidul Adha, as technical

talks with IMF will be held on November 9
to 13 while the policy level talks would be
held from November 14 to 17. The government has already said it would not be seeking a new programme from IMF and the
focus would be to get a certificate of health
on the macroeconomic framework to keep
getting project financing from the donors.
WorLD BaNK, aDB: Pakistan is expected to start getting external inflows that
will further improve the country’s financial
position, even though it would have to begin
returning $1.2 billion to the IMF from February next year. The World Bank and Asian
Development Bank (ADB) are likely to provide $1 billion each for the power sector
after the report, the source said.
Under Article Four, the IMF holds a
review of the economy of every member
country once a year and then gives its report. The review for Pakistan has not taken
place for the last two years, as it was under

an IMF programme and its performance
was regularly monitored by the fund staff.
After the suspension of the IMF programme in May 2010, external inflows
from donors dried up but an increase in remittances and exports helped Pakistan
stay afloat. One of the major concerns of
the IMF was to bring the Rs 391 billion circular debt in the budget books, which was
parked outside the budget to retain the fiscal deficit on the lower side. The IMF was
concerned that the anomaly was affecting
the health of the banking sector and the
budgetary figures were not authentic, the
source said.
The government on Friday resolved
the issue by swapping the Rs 391 billion
circular debt TFCs into PIBs and T-Bills
of the power sector and commodity financing operations on budget books. The
move will increase the budget deficit by
1.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Prod-

uct (GDP) against the estimated budget
deficit of 4 percent of GDP for the current
fiscal year. This measure ended the
anomaly and will end the financial crisis
in the banking sector, which would in
turn enable it to provide investment for
power and other projects.
Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez
Shaikh had said Pakistan would be retaining its relationship with the IMF, even
though there was no need for a new programme during the current fiscal year, but
if there was a need then the fund would be
approached. He also said the revenue and
power sector reforms would be pursued as
under an IMF programme. The withdrawal
of tax exemptions in March this year and
improvement in revenue collection, reducing expenditures and not doling out any financial assistance to the state-owned
Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways, who had been asked to firm

up their restructuring plans to get financing from banks, would help get a better assessment from the IMF.
The government is negotiating with
the ADB to get financial assistance to retire
the circular debt as even after resolving the
previous circular debt, another Rs 300 billion had piled up last year because of the
tariff differential subsidy and line losses
during the last fiscal year.
The ADB is conducting a study to find
a permanent solution. The government
plans to induct new professional management in distribution and generation companies during the current month to end
losses caused by inefficiency. The government also plans to increase the power tariff by 14 percent during the current fiscal
year to avoid piling up another Rs 67 billion in liabilities because of the differential between the notified and applied
power tariff.

Jd banned
no more
ISLAMABAD
INP

ISLAMABAD: Children showing their affection towards a sacrificial animal ahead of eid.

Pakistan denies it moved
nukes in insecure vans

ONLINE

Nawaz calls consultation
meeting after eid

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

STAff rePOrT

ONlINe

Pakistan described as “pure fiction” a US media report that suggested American plans to secure the country’s nuclear weapons in the event of any extremist threat and said on Sunday that no one should underestimate its capability
to defend its national interests. Foreign Office Spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a press statement that the article titled “The ally from hell” published in The Atlantic was “baseless and motivated”. She also rejected the
claim made in the report that the country’s nuclear weapons were “transported in delivery vans on congested and dangerous roads”, saying the report
is baseless and motivated. The Atlantic had reported in its latest edition that
Pakistan had begun moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans. Janjua
said the report was a part of a deliberate propaganda campaign meant to
mislead opinion. The spokeswoman said: “The surfacing of such campaigns
is not something new. It is orchestrated by quarters that are inimical to Pakistan. No one should underestimate Pakistan’s will and capability to defend
its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif
has called a consultation meeting of
the provincial presidents and key
leaders of the party after eidul Adha
to make the ‘Go Zardari Go’ campaign more affective.
Nawaz has returned to the
country from his visit to Turkey and
Britain and has sought the record of
the speech delivered by Punjab
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
against President Asif Ali Zardari
during the PML-N rally in Lahore.
Nawaz also sought reports on

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders’ reaction to the speech, as well as
a report on the party’s offices being
set on fire in Sindh. Sources said
Nawaz had decided to launch the
anti-Zardari across the country soon
after eid to rid the country of the current government. The party’s manifesto and coming elections would be
discussed in the meeting and a decision on activating the district organisations to participate in the drive
would also be taken, said the sources.
An important leader said on
condition of anonymity that the
party’s district presidents would be
sacked if the number of activists
from their constituency were low.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JD) is not included in a new
list of 31 banned extremist and terrorist groups released by the Interior Ministry.
The ministry released the list of banned organisations on Saturday as part of efforts to bar such
groups from collecting the hides of animals sacrificed on eidul Azha, reported a private TV channel.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT) was included in the new list,
but the JD was not on it. After the 2008 Mumbai
attacks the UN Security Council had declared JD a
front for the LT.
Following the attacks, Pakistani leaders such as
Interior Minister Rehman Malik had said JD had
been banned, however, during a hearing at the Lahore High Court in 2009, a senior law officer admitted that no notification had been issued to that
effect. The new list of banned groups includes
Jaish-e-Muhammad and its front organisation
Khuddam-ul-Islam, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan and
its front organisation Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Al
Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-eJhangvi, Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Tehreek-eJaafria Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah
Muhammadi and Hizb-ut-Tehrir.
Other groups on the list are Tehrik-e-Islami, Jamiatul-Ansar, Jamiat-ul-Furqan, Khair-un-Naas International Trust, Islamic Students Movement of
Pakistan, Islami Tehreek Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam,
Ansar-ul-Islam, Haji Namdar Group, Balochistan
Liberation Army, Balochistan Republican Army,
Balochistan Liberation Front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Balochistan Liberation United Front and
Balochistan Musallah Difa Tanzeem. New additions
to the list were People’s Amn Committee of Karachi,
Shia Tulaba Action Committee of Gilgit, Markaz
Sabeel Organisation of Gilgit and Tanzeem-e-Naujawanan-e-Sunnat of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Interior Ministry warned that any members of
the banned groups found collecting animal hides
during eidul Adha would be booked under the AntiTerrorism Act. Members of the banned groups cannot assemble, maintain offices, continue their
activities and operate bank accounts, an official
statement said.
The Interior Ministry said all persons who want to
collect hides would have to obtain permission from
the district administration chiefs or district magistrates. Traders involved in purchasing hides were directed to deal only with sellers who had permission
from authorities to collect hides.